There has been a lot said about Stefan Betke (aka Pole) and his obsession with
creating sparse, stripped-down dub undergirded by the crackling of a defective Waldorf
4-Pole analogue sound filter (from which the name Pole came to be), most of which was
something like: "it all sounds the same" or "he's just a one trick pony." After three
consecutive releases which cover basically no new ground, I don't disagree. There is
nothing specific (that I can come up with) in the latest Pole album that would
distinguish it from any others. In spite of this fact (and maybe because of it),
Pole's third album, 3, although not forging any new territory, succeeds in a way that
none of the previous Pole releases have.
Although I've enjoyed Pole's albums since I first heard them, there has always been
something missing. I enjoyed the textures created and thought it was an interesting
listen, but I never found myself very involved in the music. For some inexplicable
reason, that has all changed with this album. Maybe its just that I've finally
noticed what has been there in all of the releases, but this album has an incredible
fluidity. Each song flows into the next with only an occasional ripple--beautiful! A
stand out track is "Uberfahrt," which features, of course, the crackle of the Waldorf
4-Pole, with barely there, echo-drenched dub rhythms. Interspersed throughout the
track is the occasional burst of three progressive electronic notes. It may not sound
like a whole lot to work with, but that is Betke's strength, restraint.
Other stand out tracks are "Klettern," which is the least smooth of all the tracks on
the album, featuring occasional, heavier bursts of sound, and "Fohlenfurz" which is the
sparsest of all the tracks (which is certainly saying something).
So, to those who
are so quick to accuse Betke of being a "one trick pony," I reply,
"If the trick is this good, why change it?"
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