Forest root

Let's party like it's 1998*. The soundtrack? A sudden, notable eruption of new music from the near-holy trinity of Jan Jelinek, Oval and Pole, three pioneering titans of experimental electronica. 


Jelinek has just launched only his second release as Farben since 2004 - a self-released 12" of deviant disco, like its predecessor. Stefan Betke is about to unleash his first as Pole in several years (also his debut under his own label & again a 12").


Meanwhile, the past year's outpouring of Markus Popp's reinvented Oval is poised to continue with - somewhat unimaginably, given his torrential recent output - the 'lost tracks' of OvalDNA. In contrast to his peers' vinyl-clad modesty, Popp's maximal "much more than a regular music CD" package is also to include a DVD & software).


To these ears, Popp's playful, textured workouts are particularly compelling. Inevitably, though, Farben's warped loops & Pole's bassy warmth offer much as well. 


Anyway, the comparison is probably witless & certainly unfair. OvalDNA excavates 17 years in unearthing its 35 tracks, even if some are recognisably of the zithery, twangy 'new' Oval (others are clearly not, as inspired glitches like Gegenlesen & Savvy below underline - "I am almost sure there will be a lot to like about this record, especially for fans of the classic Oval sound," Popp says). 


Jelinek & Betke's releases document their notable efforts to still be making new music after all this time. Still, OvalDNA manages to sound rather more contemporary than either (despite being the opposite, of course) - perhaps reflecting the constraints imposed by Farben & Pole's closer adherence to genres, especially Betke's willingness to keep mining dub techno tropes. Happily, Jelinek seems to smuggle in a little breadth to his palette from the Oramic sci fi territory he's been exploring as Ursula Bogner.  



Oval - Glass UFO


*OK, so Oval's legendary 94diskont. came out a few years earlier. But the point - unexpected, welcome resurgence of 90s legends - stands... 

farben - xango (album preview)


Farben - Xango EP - clips

Oval - Gegenlesen 30s preview


Oval - Pockyrocky 30s preview


Oval - Savvy 30s preview


Oval - Stealth 30s preview


Oval - IV 30s preview



Navigating Oval

Blurb: "As the next step in the evolution of a legendary producer, on September 1st 2011, Stefan Betke is founding a new artist label named “pole.” 

Made for the music of pole, this new imprint will keep Betke’s large back catalogue available, as well as give his forthcoming releases an autonomous structure for experimentation and creativity.
For over a decade, Stefan Betke has been working as a label owner, publisher and mastering engineer, contributing his experience to the development of electronic music.
The artist label “pole” is intended to create a place where pole´s original and unique sound can be developed further, and combined with new production methods and ideas.
In the second half of 2011, pole will re-release his full back catalogue digitally, including classical records such as “1,2,3,” “Steingarten” and “Steingarten remixes,” as well as his new music on a series of 12 inches released on vinyl and digital. 

As Pole puts it: “My new music will sound very warm, has a lot of bass and stands in a strong relation to my musical history."

Wurzel - Excerpt by pole


Wipfel Dub - Excerpt by pole


Wipfel - Excerpt by pole


Pole photo by Kai von Rabenau. Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.