Bleep

People had a hard time putting a finger on Pole’s sound when the project emerged in the late-90s. Stefan Betke’s sound could be linked to many other styles - the atmospheric production and liberal use of sub-bass meant that the project was clearly rooted in dub, while the way that Betke rewired classic dub tropes for the modern age placed Pole in the orbit of the illbient and dub-techno sounds that had become popular earlier in the decade.

However, the spacious mixes and solemn air that hung over Pole’s music meant that it did not fit neatly into any of those categories, while the label of IDM also proved inadequate. This was, to all intents and purposes, something rather unusual, and terms like ‘glitch-dub’ and ‘dubtronic’ sprung up around the trio of LPs that Pole released between 1998-2000. To modern ears the records still sound remarkable, their scritch-scratch soundscapes and enveloping bass linking up with other electronics innovators of the time - artists like Mika Vainio, Oval and Jan Jelinek.