Steingarten CD

After minimalist experiments with elements of hip-hop and dub, Stefan Betke's latest album 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 meagre or repellently cool. This might be due to the fact that Pole has found a perfect middle point between avant-garde and pop. Pop in the sense of functional music, which wants to please and use familiar structures. And avant-garde, which, since early modernity has been characterised by a total lack of solicitousness, not seeking to be anything but an autonomous piece of art. The beats are groovy, but never overly dance-oriented. Melodies are used as harmonic dashes of colour, 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.