Gesaffelstein
French music producer (born 1985)
title: "Gesaffelstein" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1987-births", "living-people", "french-electronic-musicians", "french-record-producers", "french-male-songwriters", "french-electronic-dance-music-djs", "columbia-records-artists", "owsla-artists", "parlophone-artists", "warner-music-sweden-artists", "french-people-of-german-jewish-descent", "jewish-musicians", "masked-musicians", "musicians-from-lyon", "21st-century-french-male-musicians", "21st-century-french-songwriters", "21st-century-french-jews"] description: "French music producer (born 1985)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesaffelstein" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary French music producer (born 1985) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Brodinski&Gesaffelstein crop.jpg |
| caption | Gesaffelstein at Amnesia, Ibiza in 2012 |
| name | Gesaffelstein |
| birth_name | Mike Lévy |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Lyon, France |
| occupation | {{flatlist |
| genre | {{flat list |
| label | {{flat list |
| years_active | 2008–present |
| website | |
| :: |
| image = Brodinski&Gesaffelstein crop.jpg | caption = Gesaffelstein at Amnesia, Ibiza in 2012 | name = Gesaffelstein | birth_name = Mike Lévy | birth_date = | birth_place = Lyon, France | origin = | occupation = {{flatlist|
- Music producer
- disc jockey
- music programmer
- songwriter}} | genre = {{flat list|
- French electro
- electro
- alternative R&B
- trap
- hip hop
- electro-industrial
- synthwave | label = {{flat list|
- Parlophone
- Columbia
- OWSLA
- Bromance
- Zone
- Turbo | years_active = 2008–present | website =
Mike Lévy (; born 24 June 1985), known professionally as Gesaffelstein (), is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as Lady Gaga, the Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Electric Youth, Haim, Miss Kittin, the Hacker, Jean-Michel Jarre, Lil Nas X, Charli XCX, Pharrell Williams and Chuck Ellis.
Stage name
Gesaffelstein is a portmanteau of Gesamtkunstwerk ("total artwork" in German, also the title of an album by the American electro group Dopplereffekt) and Albert Einstein.
Career
Mike Lévy was born in Lyon, France, into a Jewish family, in June 1985. He started producing music at the age of sixteen when he first played an analog synthesizer. He released his first EP in 2008 through the label OD Records. In 2009, he founded the independent label Zone with The Hacker, Alex Reynaud and David Rimokh.
In July 2012, Gesaffelstein made the cover of DJ Mag with Brodinski. The same year, his track "Viol" was used by Citroën and Givenchy advertisements. He co-produced two tracks on Yeezus, the sixth album by American rapper Kanye West, including the lead single "Black Skinhead" and "Send It Up", both tracks produced with West, Daft Punk, Brodinski and Mike Dean. On 28 October 2013, Gesaffelstein released his debut album Aleph under Parlophone Records and OWSLA (in North America only), which had been recorded since 2011. His remix of "Shockwave" by the Hacker is featured in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V, on the Soulwax FM radio station.
In 2015, Gesaffelstein released the single "Conquistador" in collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre, which is present on the album Electronica 1: The Time Machine. He also produced the soundtrack for the French-Belgian 2015 film Maryland, directed by Alice Winocour. In early 2018, he produced the tracks "I Was Never There" and "Hurt You" from the Weeknd's My Dear Melancholy, EP.
Gesaffelstein signed to Columbia Records in November 2018, with whom he released the lead single "Reset" from his second studio album Hyperion in the same month. In January 2019, he released a collaboration with the Weeknd titled "Lost in the Fire" as the second single from Hyperion, and later in March 2019 released another collaboration with Pharrell Williams titled "Blast Off". Hyperion was released on 8 March 2019, to mixed reviews. On 3 October 2019, Gesaffelstein announced his surprise EP Novo Sonic System, consisting of 6 tracks, which was released the following day.
For Apple's October 2021 event, his track "Orck" was used as the pre-intro and outro theme music.
Gesaffelstein announced a collaboration with fellow Kanye West collaborator KayCyy. TW20 50, an EP containing 3 collaborative songs between the two of them, released on 11 March 2022.
KayCyy and Lévy's second collaborative EP, TW2052, was released on 26 May 2023.
On 9 February 2024, Lévy's third album, Gamma, was announced, with a release date of 29 March 2024 revealed six days later.
In 2025, Lévy co-produced and co-wrote on Lady Gaga's album Mayhem. He featured on the sixth track, "Killah". His remix of the Mayhem track "Abracadabra" earned him the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, at the 68th annual ceremony.
Musical style
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Gesaffelstein_Lollapalooza_2014,Chicago(14965407185).jpg" caption="Gesaffelstein at [[Lollapalooza]] 2014"] ::
Mixmag describes Gesaffelstein's style as being a "dark and threatening techno, though enchanting"; The Inrocks see it as "black, ultra-violent music, [which] revives the techno fundamentals, the intransigence of Underground Resistance, the mental and obsessive structures of Drexciya, the contemporary power and more". Megan Buerger from the Washington Post describes his style as a mixture of dark and underground music, and notes that a specialty of the artist is his use of silences to create a "tension" before a "raucous explosion of bass and percussion".
Rolling Stone magazine sees his music as being "a little more aggressive and punk-rock than normal".
Influences
Gesaffelstein cites Dopplereffekt, Kraftwerk, and industrial dance formations from the '80s such as D.A.F. or Nitzer Ebb all as references. He has also said Joy Division and the Hacker influenced his work.
Discography
Main article: Gesaffelstein discography
References
References
- ZONE. (June 24, 2015). "Happy birthday Gesaffelstein".
- Makarechi, Kia. (5 December 2013). "Gesaffelstein Produces For Kanye, Embarks On Live Tour And Keeps A Few Secrets". Huffington Post.
- (26 May 2014). "Main Square Festival 2014 : Gesaffelstein, qui es-tu ?".
- Géraldine Sarratia. "Gesaffelstein, nouveau prince de la techno française".
- (26 March 2019). "Zone : le noir label de The Hacker et Gesaffelstein fête ses 10 ans - Tsugi".
- (July 2012}}{{Dead link). "French new wave! Brodinski & Gesaffelstein bring the Bromance to SW4".
- "Musique de la pub Citroën DS4 – Just Mat".
- Caramanica, Jon. (5 December 2013). "Gesaffelstein, a.k.a. Mike Levy, at Webster Hall". The New York Times.
- (17 January 2019). "Gesaffelstein's Debut Album 'Aleph' - Out Now!".
- (20 April 2015). "Gesaffelstein & Jean-Michel Jarre Collaborate For 'Conquistador'". Harder Blogger Faster.
- Meadow, Matthew. (29 March 2018). "BREAKING: The Weeknd Calls On Skrillex, Daft Punk, Gesaffelstein & More For New EP [MUST LISTEN]". Your EDM.
- [https://pitchfork.com/news/gesaffelstein-returns-signs-to-columbia/ Gesaffelstein Returns, Signs to Columbia] ''Pitchfork''
- (7 January 2019). "The Weeknd's Got Everyone Excited Teasing New Music 'Lost In The Fire'".
- "Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams Go Pop In The Shadows On 'Blast Off': Watch".
- "Gesaffelstein's 'Hyperion' Is a Moody Mix Of Pop, Goth & Cinematic Scores: Listen".
- Larry Fitzmaurice. (12 March 2019). "Gesaffelstein – Hyperion".
- (3 October 2019). "Gesaffelstein surprises fans with new EP, 'NOVO SONIC SYSTEM'".
- Redaktion, FAZE. (6 February 2022). "The Return of Gesaffelstein".
- "KayCyy Drops New EP 'TW20 50' and Shares Video for "The Sun"".
- (2023-05-26). "KayCyy, Gaseffelstein ascend as one on otherworldly 'TW2052'".
- "Gesaffelstein announces third studio album, ''Gamma''".
- Steffanee Wang. (27 March 2025). "Lady Gaga has never felt more in charge".
- (February 1, 2026). "Grammys 2026 Winners". [[The New York Times]].
- Bridget Mills-Powell. "Brodinski: the family guy".
- Buerger, Megan. (31 August 2012). "Gesaffelstein album review: 'Rise of Depravity'". [[The Washington Post]].
- [[Skrillex]]. (31 May 2012). "Who Should Be Big".
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