Gesaffelstein: up high in the underground

Koen Van Dijck
© Agenda Magazine
15/02/2014

After his performances at Libertine Supersport, Dour, and I Love Techno and the release of his album Aleph last year, it seemed to be utterly indisputable: Gesaffelstein is the underground DJ/musician in the electronic world right now. Despite his jet-black music, the Frenchman has some strange features, and that seems to appeal to a lot of people. He is called “The Prince of French Techno” and a certain veil of mystery hangs over Mike Lévy – his name in everyday life. Those are certainly good ingredients to build up a certain status. For ease’s sake, Gesaffelstein is categorised under “techno”, but his productions are much more varied than mere repetitive thumping. We’ve seldom been overwhelmed by so much intensity, both on the album and live onstage. His beats cut a path right through your bones, by turns at a drudgingly slow tempo and then as a flashing barrage. His sound is inspired by industrial, new wave, cold wave, new beat, rave, and electro. They are all dark and aggressive electronic genres, but his music is by no means blind rage. Behind the façade, you discover the warmth of Gesaffelstein’s synthesisers, which coat his songs in an emotional glaze.
If he’d wanted to make things easier for himself, he could have had a hit long ago. A refined electro beat highlighted with a rapping Kanye West, for example, for whose last album Yeezus he did some productions. Throw in a monster of a climax and he would be done. But that doesn’t appear to be necessary, because he already gets invited to all the big festivals and sells out all the big clubs. Gesaffelstein probably learned that lesson from his masters Brodinski and The Hacker. The latter is best known for his collaboration with DJ diva Miss Kittin at the height of the electro-clash rage. And he will be eternally grateful to Tiga for the leg-up he was given on the Canadian’s label, Turbo Recordings. And now Gesaffelstein is graduating up the highest level of the underground scene. We happily succumb.

GESAFFELSTEIN 18/2, 20.00, SOLD OUT!, ANCIENNE BELGIQUE, boulevard Anspachlaan 110, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-548.24.24, www.abconcerts.be

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