From Skye to the sea: Valtos at Volks Brighton
Valtos is a clash of alternate universes in perfect harmony: the pumping euphoria of electronic dance music blended with the braw freedom of Scottish folk. Call it genius, call it a welcome rift from the commercial script – or call it techno with a tartan twist.
Hailing from the Isle of Skye in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, the project consists of duo Daniel Docherty and Martyn MacDonald, joined by various guest artists. Since their debut shows in December 2021, the pair have gone on to conquer audiences all over the nation and beyond as they embark on their UK tour.
Valtos brought their project, High Water Mark, to Volks Club last month. A culture-soaked venue that has stood the test of time by the promenade; its arches have served everyone from late-night salsa-goers and mod bikers to hardcore ravers, becoming the sound system powerhouse we know and love today.
Aptly transcendent, High Water Mark brings generations of folk music into modern, genre-defying electro-trad. Accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Euan McLaughlin, feverish fiddle frenzies are thrown into the arms of upbeat electronic production, house beats and dancehall classics, with intersperses of Gaelic vocals. The result is a soundscape of emotional allsorts – joy, release, nostalgia and pride. It’s certainly emphasised if you’ve any Celtic ties yourself (I was one of these, naturally).
Grabbing the audience’s pulses with house beats from the get-go, a packed-out Volks set sailed into a belter. Mixing their own productions, including ‘Etive’ and ‘Charlie’s on the Run’, with old and new dancehall classics made the set accessible to techno newcomers. Reimagined tracks by Fatboy Slim, Disclosure, Shapeshifters and Sammy Virji made it into the mix, alongside their top-streamer remixes of Elephant Sessions’ ‘FM’ and ‘1990’.
A personal highlight was their version of Bicep’s ‘Glue’. The fiddle-injected rendition of the Scottish anthem felt like the epitome of the beautifully patriotic – a love letter to home. I can only imagine it becoming tear-rendering on a festival-sized stage beneath towering production lights.
The energy was piping hot throughout, and the set was over all too quickly. I thoroughly recommend you get on the hype. With their album The Last Light out now, catch them on streaming platforms or in person on their UK tour.
www.valtosband.co.uk | Buy tickets here
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