Pole

Releases The New Remix EP

POLE’S TEMPUS REMIX EP – OUT NOW ON MUTE

FEAT. ALESSANDRO CORTINI, SLEAFORD MODS & RROSE

LATEST ALBUM, TEMPUS, OUT NOW

POLE – aka innovative German electronic artist Stefan Betke – today releases the Tempus Remix EP on vinyl and digitally via Mute: https://mute.ffm.to/pole-tr

The EP features a new remix from Italian composer, musician, and label mate Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails, SONOIO), who remixes the title track from Betke’s latest album, Tempus. His remix steadily unfolds, with an expanding and retracting rhythm that seemingly reflects the past, present and future “tense” of the track’s title. Betke says, “Alessandro’s unique way of using analogue Synthesisers and Modular Systems blows me away, he has such a strong and warm sounding spectrum of sound.” Cortini goes on to say, “Pole’s debut trilogy albums have been in my collection forever and are always included in whichever device I have with me. His effortless ability to mix sonic and emotional relevance is unparalleled, I couldn’t say no when asked to work on his music!”

Listen to Tempus (Alessandro Cortini Remix):

Also featured, alongside the recently released rework of ‘Stechmück’ by uncompromising duo Sleaford Mods, is a new remix by experimental techno producer and composer Rrose, who said: “It was an honor to work with Pole’s warm, crackling sounds which have been an inspiration to me since I got my hands on his first vinyl release in 1998.” Betke, talking about Rrose, explains, “We met in the late ‘90s and I really was really inspired by Seth´s music (then under his early name Suthek). Since that time I’ve been following his work and the Rrose project is a milestone for me.”

Listen to Stechmück (Rrose Remix):

‘Stechmück’ and ‘Tempus’ are both stand out tracks from Pole’s latest album, Tempus. The new album explores the connections between the past, present and future (Tempus meaning “tense” in German) and on ‘Stechmück’, Betke explicitly references his past when he embraces the sound of a failing instrument. Pole was originally named after a broken Waldorf 4-Pole filter, one that gave him his distinct sound, and on ‘Stechmück’ you’ll hear a strange, eerie, almost unsettling wailing sound that rings out above the bass-heavy beats. “That is the sound of my dying Minimoog,” Betke says. But instead of re-recording it, he incorporated the sound of a failing piece of electronic equipment into the heart of the song, thus giving it an entirely new tonal dimension.  

This connection between the past, present and future is a natural one for Betke to explore, not only because of the connection to 2020’s Fading – an album about coping with dementia and the loss of memory over time – but because all of Pole’s work has an interconnectedness that spans past, present, and future. While each Pole album – his catalogue glides across ambient, dub, jazz, glitch, and electronica – is distinctly singular, the albums are part of an ongoing evolution that link as much to history as they do to the future. 

The presence of dub within Betke’s idiosyncratic framework of electronic music, is a constant but on Tempus, dub takes on an additional role. The dub effect units used in Pole’s music delay sound, keeping them a step behind the present before they are released, fading away again into a foggy reverb. The pace, tone and echo of dub effects are themselves traversing the essence of past, present and future within the album. It’s also one of the most overtly jazz-leaning records in Betke’s career but given his inclination to do things originally, it’s a deconstructed, mutated and manipulated form of jazz.

Listen to the Tempus Remix EP: https://mute.ffm.to/pole-tr

Pole Tempus is out now on vinyl, CD and digitally via Mute: https://mute.ffm.to/poletempus 

TEMPUS REMIX EP

Stechmück (Sleaford Mods Rework) 
Stechmück (Version) 
Stechmück (Rrose Remix) 
Tempus (Alessandro Cortini Remix)

“It’s the sound of an artist drawing from his repertoire while demonstrating that he is still looking to the future.” – PITCHFORK (on Tempus)

“German electronica maestro relocates the liminal dub territory of his classic early albums, with a dying Minimoog adding chance and friction to the architecturally rigorous sound design” – MOJO (on Tempus)

“Dark jazz investigations” – UNCUT (on Tempus)

www.instagram.com/pole_stefanbetke

www.pole-music.com

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