Gesaffelstein

Gesaffelstein makes music that sounds like it belongs in a dimly lit warehouse at 3am — and that’s exactly the point. Born Mike Lévy in Lyon, France, he’s spent the better part of two decades earning the nickname “The Dark Prince of Techno,” building a catalog defined by menace, restraint, and bass drops that hit like a gut punch after minutes of tension.

Lévy started producing at 16 with an analog synth, released his first EP in 2008, and co-founded the label Zone the following year. But the real turning point came in 2013, when he co-produced tracks for Kanye West’s Yeezus, including the lead single “Black Skinhead.” That credit put him on the radar of basically everyone in pop and hip-hop, and it wasn’t long before he was working with Lady Gaga, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell, Charli XCX, and Daft Punk. His collab with The Weeknd, “Lost In The Fire,” remains one of his most recognized tracks outside the dance world.

On his own records, Gesaffelstein keeps things stripped down and intense. His debut album Aleph (2013) set the template — dark, industrial, minimal — and 2019’s Hyperion pushed that sound to bigger commercial heights. His third album, Gamma, dropped in March 2024 and got a more mixed reception from critics, but it didn’t slow him down. In 2025, he picked up a Grammy for Best Remixed Recording for his rework of Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” off Mayhem, accepting the award the way he does everything — behind his signature black mask and gloves.

That mask is basically the whole Gesaffelstein brand in one image: mysterious, a little intimidating, and completely uninterested in playing the typical pop-star game. He doesn’t do a ton of interviews, doesn’t lean on personality to sell records, and lets the music do all the talking. Over a decade after Yeezus, he’s still one of the few producers who can move seamlessly between underground techno and A-list pop sessions without losing an ounce of his identity. If you want proof that dark, uncompromising electronic music can still land on the biggest stages in the world, Gesaffelstein is exhibit A.