NOV24th 2023: TEMPUS Remixes

Pole´s TEMPUS REMIX EP  is OUT NOW on Mute.
Feat. Sleaford Mods, Rrose and Alessandro Cortini.
The EP features a new remix from Italian composer, musician, and label mate Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails, SONOIO), who remixes the title track from Betke’s latest album, Tempus. His remix steadily unfolds, with an expanding and retracting rhythm that seemingly reflects the past, present and future “tense” of the track’s title. Betke says, “Alessandro’s unique way of using analogue Synthesisers and Modular Systems blows me away, he has such a strong and warm sounding spectrum of sound.” Cortini goes on to say, “Pole’s debut trilogy albums have been in my collection forever and are always included in whichever device I have with me. His effortless ability to mix sonic and emotional relevance is unparalleled, I couldn’t say no when asked to work on his music!”

Listen to Tempus (Alessandro Cortini Remix)

Also featured, alongside the recently released rework of ‘Stechmück’ by uncompromising duo Sleaford Mods is a new remix by experimental techno producer and composer Rrose, who said: “It was an honor to work with Pole’s warm, crackling sounds which have been an inspiration to me since I got my hands on his first vinyl release in 1998.” Betke, talking about Rrose, explains, “We met in the late ‘90s and I really was really inspired by Seth´s music (then under his early name Suthek). Since that time I’ve been following his work and the Rrose project is a milestone for me.”

Listen to Stechmück (Rrose Remix)

Listen to the Tempus Remix EP: https://mute.ffm.to/pole-tr

Sleaford Mods rework Stechmück

POLE has teamed up with uncompromising political British duo Sleaford Mods for what sounds – on paper – like an unlikely collaboration.
The new reworking to be shared from a forthcoming EP of remixes of tracks from Pole’s latest album Tempus, sees Sleaford Mods take the glacial-paced brooding stepper of ‘Stechmück’, completely reworking it with their skewed pop sensibilities. Bouncing beats, squelching baselines and watery electronic echoes accompany Jason Williamson’s world view of consumer nihilism.
Andrew Fearn from Sleaford Mods said, “Pole is such a brilliant producer. It’s a pleasure and an honour to collaborate with him, I’ve been a fan for a long time, seeing him play at Café OTO in London last year was sublime.
Stefan Betke goes on to say, “I have been listening to Sleaford Mods’ music for many years. I saw them live a long time ago and they left something in my brain: the straight political attitude, the music and the energy they create blows my mind. To hear Jason “talk” about real life makes my day, and Andrew’s solo work is outstanding. Sleaford Mods have long been my dream team to collaborate with, and now it happened!”

Pole´s “Stechmück” Remix EP will be released November 24th 2023

Listen to the ‘Stechmück’ (Sleaford Mods Rework) here: https://youtu.be/X9395_voLIo

New Album “Tempus” will be out November 18th 2022

POLE has announced details of a new album, Tempus, which will be released on Mute, 18 November 2022 on vinyl, CD and digitally.
Watch the video for ‘Grauer Sand’ (by Rainer Kohlberger), the first taste of what to expect from the
Tempus (meaning “the tense of a verb group is its form, which usually shows whether you are referring to past, present, or future time”) considers the connection between the past, present and future, and is, explains Betke, “…a natural development to the last album. One which goes further and is even more complex.”

pole remix for Freund Der Familie (FDF009)

January 28th 2021 FREUND DER FAMILIE is releasing the “Panorama Mixes” 10 inch (white vinyl!) containing a remix of pole.

Bleep Podcast #142

pole has recorded a podcast for Bleep.com! “This mix includes some older music which is in my record shelf for ages already and some new music which will stay in my record shelf for ages. Inspiring music and music for the soul. I hope you will enjoy listening.”

Limited edition of “Fading”: Aztec Gold Vinyl + Poster

Aside the regular album formats double 12inch vinyl, CD and digtal, a limited edition of pole´s album “Fading” is available as Double Aztec Gold Vinyl in gatefold sleeve and spot gloss finish with high definition download code at your local record store. Follow this link for ordering a copy including poster: ORDER LINK!

Now available on Bandcamp: The album “pole” (Mute, 2003)

The album “pole”, released on Mute Records in 2003 (feat. FAT JON) is uploaded on pole´s bandcamp site. The upload includes the tracks of the single releases “45/45” and “90/90” (instrumentals and bonus tracks).

pole 1, 2 and 3 available as digital files on bandcamp

After the re-release of my albums 1, 2 and 3 collated as CD and vinyl box sets on Mute records april 24th , I´m very happy to announce the availablity of the digital files on my bandcamp account.

pole 1 2 3 box set out now

Pole´s reissue of his debut album releases, 1, 2 and 3, collated as a box set and out now on Mute.

Released on vinyl (for the first time in nearly 20 years) and CD (remastered since its 2008 reissue), the box set releases mark 20 years since the trilogy was completed and a return to the label for the groundbreaking artist. The vinyl edition includes a bonus 12″, RAUM, originally released on DIN records in 1998.

The limited vinyl box set was sold out straight away, but the CD box is still avalable.
A re-press of the single vinyl releases will follow.
For listening and ordering: mute.ffm.to/POLE123

pole´s trilogy 1 2 3 will be re-released april 24th 2020

Pole, aka musician, producer and mastering engineer Stefan Betke, has announced the remastered reissue of his debut album releases, 1, 2 and 3, available on Mute Records as a box set on 24 April 2020.

Released on vinyl (for the first time in nearly 20 years) and CD (remastered since its 2008 reissue), the box set releases mark 20 years since the trilogy was completed and a return to the label for the groundbreaking artist. The vinyl edition includes a bonus 12″, RAUM, originally released on DIN records in 1998.

Listen to ‘Silberfisch’, taken from Pole 3 and Pre-Order here: mute.ffm.to/POLE123

pole on bandcamp

pole´s music is available on bandcamp now. The first available releases are the album “wald” and the 7 inch “Lurch” (version) with a remix by Peder Mannerfelt. pole is going to release his complete back catalogue step by step, accompanied by single compilation tracks and remixes. Updates will be announced to bandcamp pole subscribers as well via pole´s facebook site.

march 24th 2017: Conrad Schnitzler & pole

The German pioneer of electronic music Conrad Schnitzler (1937-2011) amassed a vast archive of sounds for use in combination with each other in live performances. In 2011 the idea came up of con-structing new compositions, not remixes, from this material. The Con-Struct series was born. This release features con-structions by Pole: Conrad Schnitzler & pole – Con-Struct will be released on Buerau B as CD, Vinyl and Digital Download march 24th 2017.

pole “lurch – version” – 7inch

January 29th 2016 pole releases a limited 7inch including a remix by PEDER MANNERFELT!
After his album „WALD“ pole releases a version of his track „Lurch“ which was available as bonus download track in Japan only.
The flip side includes an exceptional stripped to the bones remix by Peder Mannerfelt (Roll The Dice, Subliminal Kid)
Limited to 300 copies!

If you would like to order the 7inch directly from pole, please send a message including your full address (shipping address) and your paypal address with the subject “order lurch” via the website (contact/imprint). You will receive a paypal invoice and the record will be shipped after the payment is received.
7inch: 8,50 €
shipping costs:
Germany: 2,50 €, International: 5,00 € – Registered Letter: plus 3,00€ per letter

press quotes on pole´s album “wald”

Since the release date of the album “Wald” in September 2015 we have found quite a bit of interesting reviews and articles in international press and online magazines.
Thank you to all the the journalists who wrote some critical articles about my new album and for your support!

Resident Advisor 07.10.2015
„Betke’s complex work has never been so joyful, free and emotionally rounded….This is a record of great technical skill and imagination, and one that’s also nonetheless soulful and sincere. It’s a testament to Betke’s artistic integrity that he waited patiently for eight years, only releasing Wald because he had something fresh and distinctive to offer.“

Electronic Beats Magazine (print) autumn 2015  (by Deadbeat)
„At a time when so many musicians are lazily mining the past in lieu of charting new creative tracts, WALD is truly a breath of fresh air.“

Drowned In Sound 15.10.2015
As usual, however, Betke knows exactly what he’s doing. Wald, like 2007’s excellent Steingarten and 2003?s underrated self-titled effort, is an evolution of the minimalist dub techno sound Betke first pioneered in the late 1990s…. Unlike those two records, Wald is truly the sound of Pole without filters. Textures bleed into one another to create something that is consistently both beautiful and mysterious. …Yet it is also wholly different from previous works, making it an extremely successful comeback from a true master of modern electronic music.

XLR8R Feature 28.09.2015
„Betke’s just put out Wald, his first full album since 2007’s Steingarten—and it’s perhaps his most intimate and contemplative work yet.  Wald’s a peaceful and warm collection of song—it’s a welcoming, beguiling record, despite that crackle and the occasional shard of distortion. It’s also a plain old great sounding set, proof of his years spent toiling in the mastering business. „

Inverted Audio Feature 11.09.2015
„The music of Stefan Betke aka Pole is in a constant state of flux. His recordings are evidence of his musical evolution, milestones along an open-ended journey. But this does not mean Pole’s albums are provisional or incomplete; on the contrary, they express a kind of perfectionism always aimed at reaching an imagined musical core. For Pole musical reductionism isn’t repetitive or deterministic. It involves constant motion around an ideal core, the smallest possible unit. As a result, all of Pole’s releases, despite their differences, are united by a central question: “How can one extract the most intensity from the least amount of material as possible?”

Forestpunk 20.09.2015
….Unsurprisingly, Betke´s music sounds very, very good indeed. The Bass is deep and crisp, having a hefty dubstep growl, while being tight and focused like a techno track. All of this is filtered through Betke´s dub sensibilities, giving the omnipresent feeling of disembodied hands on the faders. In a world full of possibilities, Betke knows when to keep it simple……

The Wire (print) 9/15
„Given his stylistic transformations in the 2000s were accompanied by a slowdown in releases – from four albums in as many years to a four year wait between 2003’s Pole and 2007’s Steingarten – Wald comes loaded with expectations of creative seclusion producing yet further radical shifts in style…. The cleaner, brighter sound of that record, borrowing bounce from hiphop and the unprecedented use of actual guitars from Fennesz, remains. On Wald, Betke builds on it, producing an album with a grasp of sensuality at the other extreme from the soft, grainy abstraction of the dub techno releases with which he first made his name.“

Dusted Magazine 18.09.2015
“…..Even with incremental developments in the Pole style, Wald surprises and creates suspense. “Eichelhäher” works with a metallic screech on a hobbled repeat. On some passes, it rips, other times it wheezes. Measure by measure, more hairy tones work their way in, ‘til by then end, it’s a half-dozen broken motors spinning. Only Betke could make such a pile of distortion feel so free of aggravation. Stepping gingerly and keeping balanced in precarious places, Wald is a cat. It’s as pleasing as a purr.”

Pitchfork 15.09.2015
“…..Those dub mechanics have a lot to do with the music’s flexible rhythms and odd syncopations, which contribute to the mercurial sense of flow: There are almost always more elements in play than you can track, and whatever silvery filament you choose to focus on, your attention will soon be hijacked by something else. Still, there’s nothing hectic about the listening experience;…..Wald is every bit as contemplative as the forest walks that inspired it. It has an unfettered sense of motion that, for an artist who was once, by his own admission, stuck in a rut, sounds like the sweetest kind of freedom.”

Cyclic Defrost 20.09.2015
“….As you’d expect, the nine tracks collected within exhibit evidence of a considerable shift in Betke’s sound over the ensuing years, but while there’s an increased use of both clarity and distortion, familiar traces of his dubby roots remain firmly in place.”

pole “wald”

release date sept 11th 2015: wald
The vinyl version includes a free digital download code.
LISTEN & BUY.

 

Album Release Concert:
pole & mfo presents “wald”
audio visual live show
sept 24th 2015 London – Village Underground
with Robin Fox + Atom. Produced by the Barbican in association with Unsound and Club To Club at Village Underground.

4th sonic preview on “wald”

Here comes the 4th preview of my upcoming album “Wald” which will be released September 11th 2015 on my label “pole”. The album will available as double 12inch vinyl, as Digipak CD and as digital download.

3rd sonic preview on “wald”

With the 3rd sonic preview of my upcoming album “Wald” I´m happy to announce that the official release date is set for September 11th 2015. The album will available as double 12inch vinyl, as Digipak CD and as digital download.
Upcoming show of pole & MFO:
September 24th – London at Village Underground w/ Robin Fox + Atom.

pole announces the album “wald”

I´m very happy to announce my upcoming album “Wald” with first sonic previews.
“Wald” will be a 50 minutes piece divided into 3 acts, with 3 tracks per act.
More snippets of “wald” will follow during the next weeks on my soundcloud site.
The album is scheduled for mid September 2015.

pole presents “wald” featuring MFO

pole´s upcoming album release  “wald” will be presented in an audio visual collaboration with the video artist Marcel Weber aka MFO.
The premiere will take place at Intonal Festival in Malmö, Sweden, april 25th 2015, followed by several A/V shows in North America e.g., Mutek Festival (Montréal, may31st), Kremwerk (Seattle, june 4th) and Non-Event at Le Laboratoire (Boston, june 7th). Thanks a lot to Goethe Institut and Auswärtiges Amt Germany for supporting this tour financially.
The album release is scheduled for mid september 2015,
More information about “wald” will follow, soon.
See more shows announced at pole´s event page.

Waldgeschichten 3

The third and final part of the “waldgeschichten” 12inch series highlights and expands upon pole´s distinctive sound, connecting to the first two parts of the trilogy in a charming way. Again a fundamental element is the very specific drum sound embedded in complex dubby structures, seamlessly unified with the warm and deep basslines.
If you have had the pleasure of listening to one of pole´s live concerts recently, then you will immediately recognize the “lurch” and “moos”.

After the stripped down second part of the trilogy, with its wintery atmosphere, these tracks appear to be floating in melancholy. The field recordings and sounds fade away into echoes, grounded with massive bass.
This is a perfect conclusion to the series, offering a foretaste of the upcoming pole album.

go to release!