There’s no doubting where Polestar’s head is at once you read the track titles and press play. EP opener ‘Glitch Boogaloo’ is just that. Starting out with some dark synth drones and atonal digital bleeps, the 808 snare falls into line, then the electro kicks in. When playing with an electro basis, Polestar is at his best. With repetitive, syncopated basslines the music is grounded and moving. At other times in these 5 tracks, he veers more towards an IDM aesthetic and, while still very good, drifts a little into anonymous electronic territory. That said, there is a constant wash of darkness to unify the pieces and some playful production. ‘Chiptone’ starts out with exactly the sounds that that implies, then layers clean synth washes, the Commodore 64 blips and a pounding, erratic kick. He returns to classic electro on closer ‘Programmer’, bringing some vocoder to interplay with the syncopated rhythm.
Connect is the debut release from new German/English electronic label Netwerk. It’s available in a variety of vinyl and CD formats. It certainly is a solid start for the label and it will be interesting to watch how they develop in the future.
Adrian Elmer
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