out now: Pole – 1 2 3 [Mute | Pole Records]

Artist:
Pole

Title:
1 2 3

Label:
Mute | Pole Records

Cat#:
POLE123 | PL4

Release Date:
24th April 2020 | in 2008

Format:
Vinyl+bonus 12″, CD & digital

Tracklist CD:
CD01-01.
Modul

CD01-02.
Fragen

CD01-03.
Kirschenessen

CD01-04.
Lachen

CD01-05.
Berlin

CD01-06.
Tanzen

CD01-07.
Fremd

CD01-08.
Paula

CD01-09.
Fliegen

CD01-10.
Modul

CD02-01.
Fahren

CD02-02.
Stadt

CD02-03.
Streit

CD02-04.
Huckepack

CD02-05.
Hafen

CD02-06.
Weit

CD03-01.
Silberfisch

CD03-02.
Taxi

CD03-03.
Karussel

CD03-04.
Überfahrt

CD03-05.
Rondell Zwei

CD03-06.
Klettern

CD03-07.
Strand

CD03-08.
Fohlenfurz

Tracklist Vinyl:
LP01-01.
Modul

LP01-02.
Fragen

LP01-03.
Kirschenessen

LP01-04.
Lachen

LP01-05.
Berlin

LP01-06.
Tanzen

LP01-07.
Fremd

LP01-08.
Paula

LP01-09.
Fliegen

LP01-10.
Modul

LP02-01.
Fahren

LP02-02.
Stadt

LP02-03.
Streit

LP02-04.
Huckepack

LP02-05.
Hafen

LP02-06.
Weit

LP03-01.
Silberfisch

LP03-02.
Taxi

LP03-03.
Karussel

LP03-04.
Überfahrt

LP03-05.
Rondell Zwei

LP03-06.
Klettern

LP03-07.
Strand

LP03-08.
Fohlenfurz

BONUS12-A.
RAUM 1

BONUS12-B.
RAUM 2

Tracklist Digital:
01.
Modul

02.
Fragen

03.
Kirschenessen

04.
Lachen

05.
Berlin

06.
Tanzen

07.
Fremd

08.
Paula

09.
Fliegen

10.
Fahren

11.
Stadt

12.
Streit

13.
Huckepack

14.
Hafen

15.
Weit

16.
Silberfisch

17.
Taxi

18.
Karussel

19.
Überfahrt

20.
Rondell Zwei

21.
Klettern

22.
Strand

23.
Fohlenfurz

24.
Rondell Eins

25.
Heim

26.
Sachte

27.
Spaß Rewind

Press Info:
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 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.

Taking his name from a defective analogue Waldorf 4-Pole filter, the broken machine’s distinctive crackles gave Pole the starting point for his equally simple and subtle sound layers. Rhythmic textures and warmly pulsing bass lines join in play and, at least from Pole 2, experience a slow shift towards Minimal Dub.

Betke explains, “A common factor in all the releases was that they all originated in a kind of dub continuum. Melodies have never been my motivation – they were always more peripheral. But across those albums, the reverbs and the bass lines were always related and interlinked with each other. By working that way, I didn’t feel as if I was under any artificial pressure, and I could allow things to end loosely in order to continue my work.”

Pole 1 (1998), Pole 2 (1999) and Pole 3 (2000), originally released as three consecutive albums in their own right, and described by The Wire as “…a set of roadmaps for the soul”, are presented together to highlight Pole’s deliberate statement – reinforced by the titling of the albums and their minimalist monochrome cover art.

Pole’s music has a unique way of oscillating between melody and avant-garde, between pop and experimental. While many of his electronic peers swore off all danceable elements during the latter half of the 1990s, Pole decided to walk the edge, championing both radical reductionism and psychedelic dream states. Tracks like ‘Kirschenessen’ or ‘Hafen’ give ample proof that his music doesn’t limit itself to mere functionalism, but encourages new and poetic associations.

Pole’s classic 1 2 3 trilogy still resonates in contemporary electronic music. The unmistakeable crackles infiltrated both mainstream Pop and the burgeoning Dubstep scene and now, with the reissue of his first three albums, listeners get a chance to experience Pole 1-3 as a coherent entity and explore this defining benchmark in the history of electronic music.

Listen: