From Michael Upton Sent Mon, Aug 17th 1998, 04:18
From Michael Upton Sent Mon, Aug 17th 1998, 04:18
On Mon, 17 Aug 1998, Phylistine wrote: | Pole's LP1 opens with the hiss and crackle of a badly scratched record, | gradually white noise and the pops and clicks of a defective | Pole-Waldorf Filter resolve into a subtle rhythmic pattern setting the | percussive standard for this brilliant pseudo-ambient structure. Just out of interest, my understanding was that "pole" referred to some quality of filter. I know my Emu sampler has x-pole (4?) filters, and I thought that's what Waldorf synths had too... if someone wants to enlighten me off list that'd be lovely. :) Anyway, I have to agree with Phylistine's comments pretty heartily, even if the album evokes quite a different feeling for me. Prior to getting the album (my one's called 'CD1' strangely, but I hope it's the same ;) I was a little worried that Pole was going to be a bit of a gimmick - that guy who uses lots of crackles and popping in the mix - but I haven't found that to be the case. With my music-writing hat on, it's evident he uses quite a small range of sounds compared to some, but most BC related acts are "guilty" of that one. Technically, he's not very interesting. The sounds he uses are not exceptional, and easy enough to copy. However, with my enjoying the music hat on, I love the way he writes. I love the sounds he uses, and the space he gives his tracks. Lots of the harmonic elements grab me as well, although I do find one or two tracks are spoiled by a too-straightforward bass line. I guess I'd give the album about 7 or 8 out of 10 all in all, and maybe 9 in the dark late at night. :) Michael "You know what? I'll call him Jet Jaguar..." http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~michael/jj.html