THURSDAY 6/4
GERMAN DUB MAVERICK POLE PRESENTS NEW ALBUM WALD
Oh, this could be special. Seattle hasn't hosted German producer Pole (aka Stefan Betke) since 2003. He was something of an electronic-music icon, getting indie-rock fans into off-kilter and glitchy Teutonic dub via Matador Records' release of his 1, 2, and 3 LPs. A dozen years later, Pole's profile has slipped in the United States, but he's maintained high quality control, especially with the unusually playful and relatively up-tempo 2007 full-length Steingarten. Now Pole is previewing his upcoming album Wald with visual help from MFO. (The title may also obliquely refer to the Waldorf 4-Pole filter that Betke used to achieve the staticky, spaced-out feel of his early releases.) You can get an inkling of what Wald—an elaboration of the three excellent Waldgeschichten EPs he put out in 2011–12—will sound like at pole-music.com. Wald's inspired by the photos and films Betke took in the woods over the last five years. If the pastoral, mesmerizing dub workouts of those previous EPs are indicative, it'll be a work of contemplative beauty. With Randy Jones and Nordic Soul. Kremwerk, 8 pm, $12 adv/$18 for Pole and Shifted's 6/5 show, 21+.
FRIDAY 6/5
UK PRODUCER SHIFTED HEADS AN EPIC NIGHT OF SUBTERRANEAN TECHNO
Besides being cofounder of Avian Records, one of the world's foremost bastions of sandblasted, cerebral techno, Shifted (aka UK producer Guy Brewer) is one of the most skilled artists in this subterranean milieu. His two EPs—under the title Arrangements in Monochrome—hint at Shifted's sound palette, but within those strictures he conjures profoundly pitiless, grayscale vistas that beg for dystopian cinematic treatments. Tonight's organizers, the MOTOR and secondnature crews, have stacked the bill with some of the city's leading purveyors of electronic-music brutality and severity, including former Seattle/current Oakland synthesist Black Hat (aka Nelson Bean), who has a 12-inch due soon on the MOTOR label. Bean's fascinating mutations of experimental techno, IDM, industrial, and ambient music make his departure from our town painful, but it's good to know he's still part of the MOTOR family. With Fugal, Josef Gaard, Nick Bartoletti, Knifecream, and DJ Degenerate. Kremwerk, 9 pm–4 am, $10 adv/$15 DOS, 21+.
SATURDAY 6/6
RONE AND LUSINE'S ELEGANT ELECTRO-HOUSE
French producer Rone (aka Erwan Castex) creates richly melodic electro-house tracks that swell to elegant peaks. His subtle, celebratory dance music makes for an entirely logical pairing with Seattle's Lusine. The latter—aka Jeff McIlwain—has been refining his increasingly accessible dance-pop productions over the last six years, culminating with 2013's The Waiting Room, which includes a suave cover of Electronic's "Get the Message" sung by McIlwain's wife, Sarah. For tonight's set, Lusine enlists drummer/Stranger contributor Trent Moorman to boost his sleek rhythms. World-class electro musician 214 (Chris Roman) opens. Crocodile, 9 pm, $15 adv, 21+. 
