Description

Pole 1 (1998), Pole 2 (1999) and Pole 3 (2000), originally released as three consecutive albums in their own right, and described by The Wire as “…a set of roadmaps for the soul”, are presented together to highlight Pole’s deliberate statement – reinforced by the titling of the albums and their minimalist monochrome cover art.

Pole’s music has a unique way of oscillating between melody and avant-garde, between pop and experimental. While many of his electronic peers swore off all danceable elements during the latter half of the 1990s, Pole decided to walk the edge, championing both radical reductionism and psychedelic dream states. Tracks like ‘Kirschenessen’ or ‘Hafen’ give ample proof that his music doesn’t limit itself to mere functionalism, but encourages new and poetic associations.

1 (blue)

Modul (4:37)

Fragen (6:47)

Kirschenessen (5:21)

Lachen (7:31)

Berlin (4:42)

Tanzen (5:51)

Fremd (5:27)

Paula (6:16)

Fliegen (4:46)

Pole’s classic 1 2 3 trilogy still resonates in contemporary electronic music. The unmistakeable crackles infiltrated both mainstream Pop and the burgeoning Dubstep scene and now, with the reissue of his first three albums, listeners get a chance to experience Pole 1-3 as a coherent entity and explore this defining benchmark in the history of electronic music.