Pole (musician)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Pole


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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Stefan Betke
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Origin = Germany
Genre = Electronica IDM Ambience Microsound Dub Glitch
Occupation = Producer, remixer
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Label = Mute, Matador
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Pole is the artistic name of Stefan Betke, a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica.

History

Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, homeboy 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.

Discography

Albums

* "1" (1998)
* "2" (1999)
* "3" (2000)
* "R" (2001)
* "Pole" (2003)
* "Steingarten" (2007)

External links

* [http://www.pole-music.com/ Pole website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/poleartist MySpace: Pole]
* [http://matadorrecords.com/pole/ Pole site] at Matador Records
* [http://scape-music.lineup-music.com/line_up/front/index.php?action=artist_detail&artist_id=5 Pole biography] at ~scape Records
* [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:tdjm7ia1g7or~T2 Pole discography] at All Media Guide
* [http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/interviews/poleiw.htm Pole interview] at The Milk Factory
* [http://www.realdetroitweekly.com/article_2729.shtml "Real Detroit Weekly" Interview]