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Pole AB-CD Highlight From 2007 Steingarten This is Berlin-based producer Stefan Betke's sixth full-length release, and his second release on his own ~scape label. After his duties remixing and producing such artists as John Tejada, T.Raumschmiere and Barbara Morgenstern, and a collaboration with Burnt Friedman and Kit Clayton, Pole presents music that could be architecture, with his elegantly spare form that reaches out into space. After minimalist experiments with elements of hip-hop and dub, Steingarten has hardly any concrete references. What has remained, though, is the minimalism so characteristic of Pole. Built around little loops, his arrangements dispose with any kind of ornamentation. A stark contrast with the album's title and cover - which shows a picture of the famously ornate, gingerbread-style castle Schloss Neuschwanstein. But despite some funky grooves, this is no dancefloor record. And despite its simplicity, the music never comes across as meager or repellently cool. This might be due to the fact that Pole has found a perfect middle point between avant-garde and pop. The beats are groovy, but never overtly dance-oriented. Melodies are used as harmonic dashes of color, but remain fragmentary rather than sing-song-y. Some cracking noises pop up, but not as a dissonant element - they just seem a logical part of the sound structure - a structure that creates space and order. Things dark, nebulous and irrational are alien to Pole, so it's all the more amazing how well it nurtures daydreams - and practically invites listeners to drift off on flights of fancy. There is indeed one thing that Pole's music shares with the visions of King Ludwig, who, in building Schloss Neuschwanstein, wanted to create a world for himself shielded from reality: Pole's warm bass and powerful but elastic production style conveys a feeling of coziness; it doesn't take on the outside world, doesn't mirror it or comment on it, but creates a world all its own. Format: CD Album   Label: Scape Catalog: SCPG44.2 Origin: Germany Listed: 2007-04-03 Activity Status: Usually Available in 1 - 3 days   Price: $13.97   More titles from Pole : 45 / 45 (ep) 45/45 (12 inch Vinyl) 90/90 (12 inch Vinyl) 90/90 (ep) Pole Pole (ltd Ed) (Vinyl) Raum (12 inch vinyl) Steingarten Steingarten (Vinyl) Steingarten Remixes (Ep) (12 inch Vinyl) Steingarten Remixes (Rmxs) Steingarten Remixes 2 (Ep) (12 inch Vinyl) Steingarten Remixes 3 (Ep) (12 inch Vinyl) Steingarten Remixes 4 (Ep) (12 inch Vinyl) specials Bip_Hop Generation Vol. 7 - Various Price: $8.74 More Info

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