While this writer can hardly claim to be au fait with POLE (aka Stefan Betke)'s entire oeuvre, what he has heard has found the Berlin-based maverick constructing a neat, shiny, post-dub sensurround.
A tidy taster for his July album, "45/45" is no exception to this rule, either, providing us with four gentle, dub-infused slivers of laptop pop that may not arrive anywhere terribly significant, but are an enjoyable ride to sign up for anyway.
There's a distinctive, reggae-noir feel to these tracks, too, with the ghost of Augustus Pablo's melodica floating between the ultra laid-back grooves of both "Arena" and "Round Two." "Arena", especially, has a lovely unhurried soundtrack-y feel that really burrows into your brain when taken as a headphone listen.
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Track 3, "The Bell" is (relatively speaking) the most jarring thing here, with phasing panning around and a more pronounced, stoned groove. It also features a lengthy break and only kicks back in when you're sure it's finished. If anything, though, the closing track "Back Home", embellished by August Engkilde's stand-up bass, is the pick of these lovelies.
"45/45", then, is a typically low-key, but definite expansion of Pole's less-is-more philosophy. It only very politely invades your headspace and is all the better for that.
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