Pole - Waldgeschichten 3 (August 27th)

Pole - Waldgeschichten 3 (August 27th - Pole Music)

Pole continues to broadcast from the most strangely isolated places with the third and final part of his Waldgeschichten series, producing two defiantly dub cuts that work the listener hard with seemingly unending repetition, before finally allowing rays of light to permeate the mix. In contrast to the skanking dub of the first EP, and the more agressive follow-up, Waldgeschichten 3 takes the slip-slide groove of minimal hip-hop and spreads every element thin, amplifying and enunciating the edge sounds to create a spectral palette. In keeping with the minimalist aesthetic, both tracks work with very simplistic dub structures, slowly shifting timbre and key until the repetitiveness verges on unbearable... and then carries on a while for good measure. Moos places particular emphasis on a resonant clave that becomes almost jarring, so that when the simplistic two-note bassline finally emerges, it's dynamic impact is far more significant. In other hands, this kind of slow-burning minimalism could end up uninspired or boring, but Pole's delicate engineering always ensures a certain level of quality, and Lurch's deliberately rough recording quality and heavy emphasis on static and microphone pickup yields an intriguingly different aesthetic.

14.09.12 Sopot (PL) – Open Source Art Festival (video by P.MA)

04.10.12 Braga (PT) – Semibreve Festival

http://www.festivalsemibreve.

com/

06.10.12 Graz (AT) – Musikprotokoll

http://musikprotokoll.orf.at/

Pole - Waldesgeschichten 2, Dec 5th

Pole - Waldesgeschichten 2, Dec 5th

I was pretty excited by Pole's first release on his new label, and enthused about the new ideas he's been working with, so it's pleasing to see him gather momentum with the follow up 12". Warm and resonant subs underpin Pole's trademark glitchy sound and shuffling, rootsy structures, fusing the best of techno and dub with the kind of syncopations more often seen in the work of Headhunter, 2562 and Martyn. There's a far more distinct sense of narrative to Aue and Pirol than exhibited on the first Waldesgeschichten, with more evident build ups and breakdowns, despite being built around long, evolving loops. Equally, the tension between Aue's solid, bass-driven repetitiveness, and off-kilter two-step bounce of Pirol gives the EP a sense of structure with it's contrasting styles.

Continuing in the same Romantic vein as the first EP, the track titles are drawn from natural imagery - Pirol is a vibrant yellow songbird, whilst Aue roughly translates as grassland - and channel the same sense of vitality and organic growth. Betke's work has often focused on the mechanistic, fetishising technology and searching for the ghosts in the machine, but this change in direction is a welcome refresher, without losing sight of what make his work so special. A-Aue-Excerpt by pole original
B Pirol-Excerpt by pole original

Pole plays the following dates in December, if anyone wants to buy me a ticket to Berlin...

09.12.11 Santiago (CL) - Mutek Chile Festival

http://www.mutek.cl/

12.12.11 Montevideo (UY) - SOCO Festival

http://www.socofestival.org/

04.02.12 Berlin - CTM Festival

http://www.ctm-festival.de

Pole - Waldgeschichten (Pole Music)

Pole - Waldgeschichten (Pole Music)

Stefan Betke's relationship to the outside world has always been a tricky one, with very little acquiescence to the demands of journalists or fans - letting little slip with the starkly titled trio of 1, 2 and 3, similarly withholding rhythms and melodies in clouds of static, echo, and that trademark Waldorf filter. Even with the wonderful ~scape, Betke was ever the behind-the-scenes A&R man, whilst Barbara Preisinger took the public role. So, when Pole's emotive Steingarten was released, replete with a rework package engaging with the current zeitgeist, it felt like a massive change for someone whose style revolves heavily around obtuseness and distance. Sadly, when ~scape closed its doors earlier this year, Betke once again returned to his status as the great enigma.

Finally then, Pole releases his first EP in far too long - a three part journey into dub, experimental and techno titled Waldgeschichten, and it is an undeniable pleasure to listen to. Whilst the material on early releases conceptualised dub as an aesthetic of sparseness, reductionism and delay work, Wipfel sees Pole embracing a rootsy, rhythm-led sensibility not previously seen, with a skanking organ lead and loose percussion. Similarly,Wurzel works around Maurizio-esque synth drones, but draws a solid steppa's riddim out from the murk, and channels some serious bass into the mix. For most Pole fans, the highlight will undoubtedly be the B-side, which gives us the expected cavernous bass and infintessimal sound design, replete with massive delays that float around and feed back. However, the greatest joy of Waldgeschichten is hearing Pole truly open up and deliver something that feels warm, full of life and more potent than ever. Welcome back.

Deadbeat announces BLKRTZ

Scott Monteith, aka Deadbeat, recently announced that he will be launching his own record label, BLKRTZ at the end of June, with the first release being Drawn and Quartered, his seventh studio album following 2008's Roots and Wire. For those who've managed not to notice Deadbeat in the 12 years that he's been producing, the Canadian's earliest works were released on Stefa Betke (Pole) and Barbara Preisenger's ~scape label, and focussed on a grainy, spacious type of dub heavily reminiscent of Pole's own solo excursions. Never staying still, Monteith has released more heavily techno influenced records on labels such as Cynosure and Wagon Repair, as well as exploring deeper avenues of roots dub and dancehall on Journeyman's Annua, and releasing Vampire / Vampire dub, one of my most-played of last year, on Echochord.

Monteith gave the following statement recently about his intentions with BLKRTZ
“When I received the news a few months ago that ~scape was officially closing its doors, I was incredibly sad to hear it (...) Though I hadn’t worked with them in a few years, I always saw ~scape as the natural home for a very important part of my work. Not necessarily the more listening side of things per se, but certainly the most unconcerned with genre or function, from a creative stand point the most free I guess. Barbara and Stefan worked very hard to promote a great deal of quite marginalized material over the years and did a lot to help me and many other artists out personally who otherwise would have had a much harder time of it. Though I’ll be concentrating on my own work for the first few releases, it’s my hope that BLKRTZ can serve a similarly honorable purpose in the years to come.”

I was a massive fan of ~scape's output over the past decade, and their willingness to support often very niche artists (I think I'm probably one of the few people who picked up on how great Cappablack were), so the thought of Monteith following a similar philosophy with BLKRTZ is very exciting. We'll bring more info on the label as we get it, for now, here's an unreleased Deadbeat number via his soundcloud.

Claudette by deadbeat