Pole is the artistic name of Stefan Betke (born 18 February 1967), a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as

dubtronica Dubtronica is electronic music influenced by dub music.Doherty, Greg (2003)Strange Bedfellows: Brits like Groove Corporation refile dub under electronica, '' Miami New Times'', 14 August 2003, retrieved 8 November 2009 Early examples from the ...

.Cooper, Sean
Pole Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 15 November 2013

History

Born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, 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, 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 Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

, and in 1999 Betke cofounded (with

Barbara Preisinger Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

) the label ~scape, also known for publishing

Jan Jelinek Jan Jelinek is a German electronic musician who also operates under the names Farben, Gramm and The Exposures. His music is usually categorized as minimal techno, glitch or microhouse, and is characterized by deep basslines, extensive use of s ...

. 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 ''Afternoons in Utopia'' is the second album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in 1986 via Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986. A remastered and re-released version of the album, on both CD and v ...

'' and 1989 album '' The Breathtaking Blue'' alongside

Bernhard Lloyd Bernhard Lloyd (born Bernhard Gössling on 2 June 1960) is a former member and co-founder of the German synth-pop band Alphaville. Before he joined the band, he did not play keyboards – instead, he was previously a club DJ. In 2001, Lloyd al ...

Discography

Albums

* '' 1'' (1998) * '' 2'' (1999) * '' 3'' (2000) * ''R'' (2001) * '' Pole'' (2003) * ''

Steingarten ''Steingarten'' is a studio album by Pole. It was released by his own label, ~scape, in 2007. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average ...

'' (2007) * ''Wald'' (2015) * ''Fading'' (2020)

Singles

* ''Waldgeschichten'' (2011) * ''Waldgeschichten 2'' (2011) * ''Waldgeschichten 3'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Pole site
at Matador Records
Pole biography
at ~scape Records * Pole discographyat All Media Guide
Pole interview
at The Milk Factory
''Real Detroit Weekly'' Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pole German electronic musicians Ambient musicians Dubtronica musicians Intelligent dance musicians Mute Records artists Matador Records artists 1967 births Living people