There seems to be considerable hype surrounding the guy, which to my mind is perfectly justifiable. Whilst techno isn't normally my thing (I find it a bit too sparse and minimal... i.e. boring), Gesaffelstein takes the genre and makes it his own. That is why I fell in love with his first single from his debut, 'Pursuit.' How I met it, I don't know, but when I did, I certainly knew about it. It's ridiculously abrasive, chugging and throbbing with industrial precision. The drums are definitely key to this: they're huge. And the atmospheric rest in the middle just makes the return of the syncopated bass line even more powerful. The more you listen, the more it hypnotises.
Most recently, Lévy has released 'Hate or Glory,' which runs in the same veins as 'Pursuit'. But where the latter feels hypnotic, the former has a real edge. The sound is purposeful and driven, making excellent use of silence to heighten mood. And towards the end, the relentless hi-hat rolling and distortion make for a brutal climax. These two songs both remind me of Daft Punk, a fusion of 'Homework' and 'Human After All' - definitely a good thing to be reminded of.
Combine this with Gesaffelstein's dark image and intense art-house music videos, and he's managed to take dance music to the next level. It shocks and seduces, blurring high art with beats and distortion into something quite exciting. And this is what, in my eyes, makes a producer special. It's not just dance music, it's deeper than that, more intelligent.
The Aleph-male of techno.
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