Pole is a German guy named Stefan Betke who uses a defective audio gizmo to generate random squelches and pops that he then loops into these kind of skipping-record rhythm sections, which he then expands with out-of-focus bass lines and effects. Once you get past the metal-machine-music gimmick, you realize Betke is really a purist at heart. The underwater melodies over hissy rhythms on these simultaneous debut discs are as simple as they are utterly original.
CD1 is more raw, with wandering explorations; CD2 is more polished and songlike. In either case, Betke finds something familiar, even comforting, in these islands of misfit frequencies.
