Its fairly safe to say that Jay Bliss is on fire at the moment. Now he takes time out from his recently launched “Stomping Grounds” imprint to follow up on his 2013 appearance with OCH on “The Remix EP”. Here the warm, punchy 9 minute A-side creates a highly seductive floor-tension. Flip the disc over for two modern take’s on minimalism, possibly paying homage to Studio One or Basic Channel with persistent rhythms, undertones of original dub, shaken and stirred with plenty off Jay Bliss magic.
OCH has a strong pedigree of collaborations with fellow underground stalwart Jay Bliss the latest to share space on a Autoreply record with the label boss. Bliss should be known to many as the co-owner of Electrique Boutique alongside Markus Homm, for a long time the only vinyl outlet in Romania, and his discography makes for impressive reading these days. Recent times have seen Mr Bliss share record space with the likes of Skudge and Petre Inspirescu on respected imprints like 20:20 Vision, All Inn, Hudd Traxx and Fear Of Flying. AUTO 015 kicks off with a bouncy rework of OCH’s “Scammell” from Bliss featuring sub-aqua sound-scapes and sonar blips on an instantly playable US inspired groove. OCH’s original has a distinctly liquid approach possibly referencing the work of LTJ Bukem and Good Looking over techno framework. Jay’s main offering “Men Are From Mars” is sexy controlled acid which OCH shifts up a gear for peak time floor-play layering the original TB303 patterns to thundering climax. Road-tested on Eleven Club, Tokyo’s Alpha System’s custom speakers.
Four deadly cuts of timeless, jackin’ house and deep techno professionalism. OCH returns to his Autoreply home with a new series of split 12”s inviting a diverse group of producers to share a slab of wax. For the A Side he opens with “Deltic” which sets the mood with tough yet soulful chicago vibes. OCH’s second contribution is “Freeze-Thaw” showcasing a deep, hypnotic groove alongside powerful sub-bass, lush female vox with dreamy analogue pads that bridge the gap between artistic creativity and memorable club versatility. On the flip side it’s Romanian all-rounder, The Model. Here he delivers two ultra-phat workouts in the form of “Dungeon Man”, an infectious chord driven floor-burner and “Stancuto” a stripped back, percussive take on the same theme demonstrating his emerging new warehouse sound.
The Hipodrome Of Music 