Pole - Biography
Stefan Betke can lay claim to a large amount of influence based on the three first releases made under the Pole moniker. With both working and aesthetic ties to the pioneering dub techno minimalism of the Basic Channel crew, Betke created an extremely distinct and idiosyncratic soundworld with his first record. Pole’s instantly recognizable sound has influenced a generation of producers and listeners across several genres, from ambient music to dubstep. Living in Berlin, Betke continues to produce innovative music as Pole and under his given name, but the trilogy of the first three Pole albums remains his crowning achievement.
The story goes that legendary techno producer Thomas Fehlmann gave Betke a broken Waldorf 4 Pole filter in 1996. The filter was damaged in a fall when Fehlmann passed it along and Betke found the hissing, crackling and whirring it produced to be endlessly fascinating. He started to build layered rhythm tracks from these defective textures and pulsations, processing the signal, adding deep warm basslines and ghostly melodies and editing the recordings into structured tracks. His first three albums are centered around the unique sounds emitted by this broken filter.
Betke was working as a vinyl cutter at the legendary German mastering plant Dubplates & Mastering when he released the first two Pole singles in 1998. Raum Eins / Raum Zwei and Tanzen were released on the DIN and Kiff SM labels respectively. Both 12”s immediately caused a stir in the world of dub techno. While the tracks made reference to the hissing, throbbing sound of music released on the Basic Channel and Chain Reaction labels, by then two of the most respected names in dub and ambient techno, Pole’s music was more fractured and minimal and less traditionally beat oriented. ’98 also brought the release of 1, the first Pole full-length issued in Europe by Kiff SM and in America by indie giant Matador. With this album Betke cemented his reputation as a true innovator in electronic music.
1 is the kind of labyrinthine and hypnotic record that immediately sucks you into its singular universe. The music is seemingly indecipherable yet wholly engaging. The elements are deceptively simple: warm sub bass pulse anchors the endlessly clicking and purring layers of swirling sonic detritus while distant fleeting melodies glide in and out of the mix. The crackle and hum from the Waldorf filter alternates between the fractal and the propulsive, adding elastic rhythm or undulating texture. Aside from the cavernous echo and reverb used to process these textures, the dub influence is most strongly felt in the deep basslines and haunted melodica-like sounds. Tracks like “Modul” and “Paula” ebb and flow with an organic quality that seems to move to its own alien internal logic. The entire record shares that trait, as if Betke has tapped into the sounds made by a previously unknown ecosystem.
Betke quickly followed his debut with 2 in 1999. Thankfully the record didn’t deviate too much from the first release. We’re treated to more ultra hypnotic drift and pulse with a slightly greater focus on melodic content both in the bass and the fluttering organ and melodic-like tones. Its arguably the most focused of the first three releases and is probably the most fully realized statement of Betke’s early aesthetic as well.
In the midst of his active DJ schedule Betke formed the ~scape label along with Barbara Preisinger in 1999. The label serves as an outlet for Betke’s own music as well as the work of likeminded producers. 2000 brought the release of 3. The record is again not radically dissimilar from the first two releases as Betke continues to explore the warm bass and shifting, subtle crackle of the Waldorf. 3 folds in some processed field recordings like mangled voices and far-away footsteps, adding a strange layer of decontextualized audio to tracks like “Karussel” and “Strand.” Boasting some truly haunting melodies the record is a fitting end to Pole’s first phase.
In 2003 Betke took a left turn with Pole on the 45/45 and 90/90 EPs and a self-titled full-length. Eschewing the static drift of the early releases, Betke weaves in elements of jazz, funk, dub and hip-hop drawn from his DJ sets. The music is much more straightforward both melodically and rhythmically. Pole, released on the Mute imprint, even incorporates vocals for the first time with guest spots from American rapper Fat John. While the results are uneven, it’s fascinating to hear Betke expand his production palette.
After a short hiatus Pole was revived in 2007 with the excellent Steingarten release on ~scape. Easily the best thing Betke has done since his early work, the record incorporates his trademark ambient textures with solid drum programming, enthralling grooves and catchy melodies. Influences from hip-hop, dubstep and minimal techno combine to create a unique sound on tracks like “Warum” and “Sylvenstein.” These songs are easily the most dancefloor oriented Betke has ever made and the record received a warm welcome from the techno and dubstep scenes. This spawned the release of several remix records of tracks from Steingarten including mixes from Mike Huckaby, Shackleton, Peverelist and Deadbeat. These mixes show the influence Pole has had on various strains of today’s dance music scene.
Stefan Betke continues to push his work in different directions exploring a variety of dance music styles and synthesizing these into a unique sound. While his restless work ethic continues to bring us excellent music like The Road 12” from 2009 released under his own name, Betke’s early creations as Pole have already earned a well-deserved place in the history of electronic music. The hyper-detailed, multi-layered sonic worlds he created on 1, 2 and 3 remain some of the most fascinating and unique electronic music made over the last twenty years.