123 [Box set]

The other day, a lava lamp tossed from a 4th story window fell on my CD player and damaged it. Ever since, when I put a cd in the player, it comes out as a bunch of garbled blips, chirps, & bleeps. I was going to throw the CD player out, when I recalled the rumor that Stefan Betke created his music by sending audio signal through a broken Pole-Waldorff filter. Hmm. What if the damage to my CD player could somehow reverse the process and reveal the source audio signals used to make Pole 1? I rushed to place my Pole 1 CD into my broken disc player. The resulting music that came out of the speakers was, track for track, the Japanese release of Dolly Parton's 1985 Christmas album, "Dolly Ho Ho Ho." I can't wait to see what Pole 2 and Pole 3 were originally!

If you're a fan of experimental electronic music and you aren't familiar with the work of Stefan Betke (AKA Pole), then take note: You NEED this collection of Pole's first three albums (creatively titled "1", "2", and "3"). Their simple blue, red, and yellow covers give you an idea of their minimal nature. The three albums show a detailed examination of dub done from the perspective of an aural expert.

Betke creates amazing sounds, which are basically the key to his genius. The amount of sonic detail that goes into the music is its main source of value. Harmonically speaking, there isn't a whole lot happening. We get the familiar major triads of dub with the standard-issue deep bass lines - big deal, right? In this case, those elements are only the framework for some truly strange sounds and ambience.

Pole gets his name from an ostensibly unfortunate incident where Bekte dropped a vintage Waldorf 4-pole filter down a flight of stairs. He found that the filter still functioned in some capacity, but that it began emitting a wonderful crackly static. This - the sound of the broken machine - became the feature of Pole's early work. The thing is, it's a lot more than crackle and hiss - it plays off the idea of a broken machine exhibiting some sort of frail humanity, almost as if it were somehow living. This lends what I hear as an organic element to Pole's music. Others disagree with me on this, hearing it as an affirmation on the inorganic nature of this electronic device.

I've talked with a number of friends about Pole's music. Some (like me) absolutely love it, while others feel it's too cold and distant to make much of an emotional connection. Regardless, both groups find the music endlessly fascinating.

The music is very sparse and, at times, feels startlingly empty. There is the ever-present crackling of the Waldorf, which somehow sounds slightly different on every track, but it's a delicate sound, which doesn't really fill up the texture. There is always something happening, so the music doesn't become tiresome, but it IS quite subdued. Pole's music is in a relatively unique position to satisfy when you want to listen to something light and effortless - something that drifts along politely without demanding too much of your senses. That is not to say Pole is background music - just that it's a nice counterpoint to more aggressive music like, say, Merzbow. It gives your ears a rest, but not at the price of reduced substance.

Overall, Pole's early work is essential listening for anyone who enjoys experimental electronic music. If you like Oval, Pan Sonic, or Farben, you will enjoy Pole. There isn't much in the way of variety, but that's not the point. Pole hit on something great and took the rare luxury of spending three albums exploring an idea. Think of it like Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, where he wrote little pieces in every key, or like Beethoven's three periods of string quartets. We have few analogs between the Western art music world and contemporary electronic music, but this is one of them. Buy it and enjoy!

This is Pole when he was making fresh new sounds with his broken amp. This 3 CD reissue and remastering is a good collection to start and end your interest in Pole. His later albums no longer featured subtle melodies buried under clicks and pops; they feature a rapper. It was good while it lasted.