Och – Stops Out review

Stuga Musik, the new offshoot of London based label Autoreply, introduces the unknown artist Och with two tracks of atmospheric minimal techno that takes on more of a personal form than we are used to from the genre.

This release offers a response to the plethora of unimaginative, soulless and empty sounding minimal music that blew up out of all proportion in the mid 2000s. At a time when dance music is full of depth and feeling again, Och injects those sentiments into his minimal musings on this release. “Stops Out” provides the suspense, attitude, tension and overall musicality that minimal is often guilty of neglecting. The title track is engulfed in a wary tension created by deep bass and intense synth stabs. The atmosphere from the track rises up, seeping through the simple breaks and throbbing, deep techno. Cut up vocal edits that have an old school warehouse feel give the track even more personality but it is the affecting Hammond organ sample that really makes the centrepiece.

On the flip, “Stops In” falls into even deeper into atmospheric, almost sinister tensions. A skeletal afro-tech swing is set by shimmering hi-hats and low, murmuring sub bass that collides with chiming synths. As more of an orthodox techno beat picks up, the chilling pads stretch out over the track, giving it a totally enchanting and undiscovered feel. “Stops Out ” is a highly engaging, post-modern take on minimal music, or in other words, post-minimal minimal. By bringing more feeling to the disciplines of minimal Och is proving that there is still ingenuity in the genre. Top stuff.

Review: Tom Jones