Volor Flex & Encode “Altiplano” // Dark Clover // Released 14 Oct. 2013 // Art by Jesse Somfay.
Altiplano, Volor Flex’s effervescent collab with fellow Russian producer and good friend Encode, is yet another dateless – albeit state-of-the-art – immersion into the polyrhythmic, dense, visceral compositions that this prolific artist is constantly fine-tuning somewhere in the steppe of the Ural Mountains.
There’s a lot of synced up emotional comfort and tension happening on both sides of the release, balanced-out, as ever, by artfully crafted elements of structure and style. Among them, the everpresent UK garage signature, the noise-drenched soundscapes, the sharp snares, the skittering beats, the melancholy vocals (especially on Altiplano, which easily competes with You In Me or Fake Love in unforgettableness), plus those entrancing moments of fervor followed by profound relief that Volor is such a master of.