Pole (musician)
Pole | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Stefan Betke |
Born | 18 February 1967 |
Origin | Düsseldorf, Germany |
Genres | Electronica, dub techno, minimal techno, microsound, glitch |
Occupation(s) | Producer, remixer |
Years active | 1998–present |
Labels | Mute, Matador |
Website | pole-music |
Pole is the artistic name of Stefan Betke (born 18 February 1967), a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica.[1]
History
Born in Düsseldorf, Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter,[1] which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career.
Betke's first four albums, titled 1, 2, 3, and R (an intentional trilogy of albums, followed by a collection of remixes of Pole's 1998 debut EP Raum), were all based around this filter, with songs usually taking the form of dub basslines and rhythms with percussion provided by the eponymous filter. In 2003 Betke departed from this style for the album Pole (a combination of tracks from two EPs, "45/45" and "90/90"), which utilized more traditionally electronic but still eclectic production.
Pole has been distributed on several different labels, including Matador Records and Mute Records, and in 1999 Betke cofounded (with Barbara Preisinger) the label ~scape, also known for publishing Jan Jelinek. On September 1, 2011, Betke founded a new artist label named Pole.
Betke mastered John Frusciante's 2016 EP, Foregrow, and oversaw the 2019 re-master of Alphaville's 1984 album Forever Young and the 2021 re-master of 1986 album Afternoons in Utopia and 1989 album The Breathtaking Blue alongside Bernhard Lloyd.[2]
Discography
Albums
- 1 (1998)
- 2 (1999)
- 3 (2000)
- R (2001)
- Pole (2003)
- Steingarten (2007)
- Wald (2015)[3]
- Fading (2020)
- Tempus (2022)
Singles
- Waldgeschichten (2011)
- Waldgeschichten 2 (2011)
- Waldgeschichten 3 (2012)
References
- ^ a b Cooper, Sean "Pole Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 15 November 2013
- ^ The Breathtaking Blue (2021 remaster) (CD liner notes). Alphaville. WEA / Warner Music Group. 2021.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "POLE". Pole-music.com.
External links
- Official website
- Pole site at Matador Records
- Pole biography at ~scape Records
- Pole discography at All Media Guide
- Pole interview at The Milk Factory
- Real Detroit Weekly Interview
- CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes)
- Articles with short description
- Short description matches Wikidata
- BLP articles lacking sources from November 2013
- All BLP articles lacking sources
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Articles with hCards
- Articles with ISNI identifiers
- Articles with VIAF identifiers
- Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
- Articles with BNF identifiers
- Articles with BNFdata identifiers
- Articles with GND identifiers
- Articles with J9U identifiers
- Articles with LCCN identifiers
- Articles with MusicBrainz identifiers
- Articles with SUDOC identifiers
- German ambient musicians
- Dubtronica musicians
- Intelligent dance musicians
- Mute Records artists
- Matador Records artists
- 1967 births
- Living people