DVPH aka Dragan Volta and MC Põhjamaade Hirm is Estonian hip-hop duo. Backgrounds created by beatmaker Dragan Volta are characteristically sensitive and limber with intelligent sampling. Atmospheric, light and mostly a bright sound that at times expresses the desolation of the whole universe in its warmth. So simple and clean that one could only imagine the numerous filters these beats must have been put through.

Simplicity is one of the main credos of the album. The states described are simple and the line between reality and dream is not blurry but suave. Because if the „borders are open“ and „thoughts are independent“ („Pea laiali otsas“ and the title song „Mõtted on mujal“), then dreams and fantasies are just a natural appendix to being human and the desire to separate physics and metaphysics loses purpose. MC Põhjamaade Hirm describes the transition as follows: „I let go of the branch I have been clinging to“.

There are references to rising up to the heavens (which in my imagination is more like the feeling you get when you close your eyes lying down while completely drunk) and also animatism where „trees rise to heaven/ air moving between them/ and the sun has no time to rest“ („Puud tõusevad taeva“).

The topics also change from the imperceptible to more earthly ones. The rhyme-master speaks about subcultures, his bohemian hood in Tallinn, Kalamaja, and of course the unavoidable subject of women or more specifically one woman about whom PH has to say this: „The more she is, the more there’s problems“ („Teener“ with J.O.C.). On an album that takes off so speedily into the great wide open, and where little judgment is passed, disrespecting words like „broad“ addressed towards his lover and torturer stand out quite sharply. In this song, the album deviates from its general flow as the narrator battles the mundane and sensuous world, giving to the audience a glimpse of a vulnerable young man. This is also necessary so we can actually believe that we are spoken to by a flesh and blood being.

There’s also a number of great collaborators on the album, let me just list: Magnum P, Reket, J.O.C, Chalice, DJ Kayot and Lauri Täht. Notably, the collaboration with J.O.C. „Lähedal“ brought home the title of the best rap song of the year for DVPH at the 2012 Estonian Hip Hop awards.

The beautiful cover design is by Väino Õun and it makes you want to hold it in your hands as a proper record pressed on vinyl. Really, guys, release it on vinyl as well!

Godlike, human and completely natural. This stuff won’t get old anytime soon.