Customer Reviews

45/45

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Very nice EP from a prolific producer. This album is less dubby and more hip-hop than any of the other Pole releases. You get 4 relaxing tracks that all seem to feed into each other...I think I'll be playing this disc for quite a while. Usually I don't like buying CDs this short(just under 20 minutes), but somehow this one seems complete.

While the technical capability for creating and altering sound continues to achieve unprecedented degrees of sophistication, some artists are revisiting simpler methods and forms. Judging from this EP, Pole's Stefan Betke is one of them, as he has stripped down his typical dub-infused electronic fare to emphasize the space between the sounds of a seemingly finite palate.

45/45, the first of three thematically linked releases slated to street this year, is solely comprised of Roland 909-ish beats juggling sparse patters of soft keys, softer bass, bells and sliced-up melodica. The four-song set is hypnotic and only slightly alters tempo and vibe across its 18 minutes.

Betke's more minimal application of sound has opened up acres of sonic real estate between the beats. Sometimes even the beats disappear: "The Bell" shows an obvious dub influence while omitting the genre's characteristic up-beat. The first half of the EP is almost too airy, with little melody to unify the songs. Instead, tracks one and two rely on stiff, smacking beats that are probably responsible for the label's insistence that Betke is feeling a lot of hip-hop nowadays. The final two tracks on 45/45 -- particularly the closer, "Back Home" -- benefit from increasingly persistent, yet still understated, bass lines.

The label promises that by midsummer, when the trio of Pole releases are out, we will see that 45/45 is something of a reference point for the next two releases. The advance press for the forthcoming pair suggests an increasing number of elements will be added upon the foundation this EP lays, including, for the first time, vocals (from Ohio rapper Fat John), and, improbably, some saxophone. But for now, 45/45 seems content with its own head-nodding, minimalist groove.

Jay Breitling
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