Gesaffelstein

Under the Gesaffelstein alias—a fabricated term nodding to both Gesamtkunstwerk and Albert Einstein—French DJ and electronic musician Mike Lévy crafts industrial-tinged techno and electro. Early EBM acts such as Nitzer Ebb and Front 242, together with techno and house producers including Green Velvet and Laurent Garnier, shaped his approach, allowing his ominous tracks to restore a measure of darkness to club environments in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Initial releases built a devoted audience, after which mainstream recognition arrived via the 2013 debut album Aleph and co-production work with Kanye West. The first soundtrack credit, Maryland, surfaced in 2015, while the 2019 follow-up Hyperion featured prominent appearances by the Weeknd and Pharrell Williams. Gamma, containing several tracks with singer and producer Yan Wagner, arrived in 2024.

Lévy was born in Lyon, France in 1985 and first encountered electronic dance music as a teenager. After moving to Paris in 2003 he began working with synthesizers and producing original material. The Gesaffelstein project surfaced in 2008 through Vengeance Factory, an EP issued by French label OD Records. Modern Walk appeared next on the Hacker’s GoodLife imprint, and Zone—another label operated by the Hacker—released The Operator in 2009. In 2010 he joined Tiga’s Turbo roster and delivered Variations, followed in 2011 by Conspiracy, Pt. I and II. That same year he issued a split 12" with Brodinski (Bromance #1) and teamed with the Hacker on Zone 4. Conspiracy Remixes and Bromance #4: Rise of Depravity both emerged in 2012. By then his standing among DJs had expanded into demand as a remixer for Cassius, Moby, Miss Kittin, Duck Sauce, and Lana Del Rey.

The year 2013 proved decisive: alongside Daft Punk, Brodinski, and Mike Dean, Lévy co-produced two tracks on Kanye West’s Yeezus. Gesaffelstein’s debut full-length Aleph followed soon after on Parlophone and earned widespread acclaim. The unsettling, violent videos for lead singles “Pursuit” and “Hate or Glory” accumulated millions of views, while his productions appeared in television programs and video games. He also issued the mix CD I Love Techno 2013 on Lektroluv. In 2015 he joined French electronic pioneer Jean Michel Jarre for the track “Conquistador” and composed the score for Alice Winocour’s thriller Maryland (aka Disorder), released in limited vinyl format that September.

An extended hiatus ended with the 2018 single “Reset,” later included on the 2019 album Hyperion, which contained the worldwide hit “Lost in the Fire” featuring the Weeknd. Additional contributors to Hyperion included Pharrell Williams, the Hacker, Electric Youth, and HAIM. Later that year the six-song EP Novo Sonic System appeared. Collaboration with rapper KayCyy produced the 2022 EP TW20 50 and the follow-up TW2052 a year later. Lévy co-produced Lil Nas X’s 2024 single “J Christ.” The dark electropop track “Hard Dreams,” again featuring Yan Wagner, preceded third album Gamma, which arrived in March.