MUTE
On a cursory listen, it would be easy to think the instrumental soundscapes of the first three albums by German electronic artist Pole, aka Stefan Betke, sound slight. Yet good luck to anyone who attempts to use these records, remastered and reissued for the first time on vinyl in nearly 20 years, as background music. In reality, they soon reveal themselves as far too insistent to be ignored, records that operate in a similar way to early dubstep releases, deliberately imbued with humanising pops and crackles – each a salute to the defective analogue Waldorf 4-Pole filter that gave Betke his stage-moniker. The tracks on 1 are the most accessible and melodic, but listen to the LPs back to back and you’ll reach a kind of pulsing-bass-infused waking dream state. This release includes a bonus 12", RAUM.