Gesaffelstein‘s third record, GAMMA, arrives amid a darkly dazzling array of industrial electronica and droning hypnotism. Known for his exhilarating concerts and frequent collaborations with The Weeknd, the French DJ also recently completed his return to Coachella after previously flipping the bird at the festival’s restrictive set times.
His new album GAMMA draws its entrancing energy from the torrent of new-wave and post-punk that reverberates across its 27-minute run time. Recruiting Yan Wagner as the project’s sole vocalist, his roughish baritone gracing six of its eleven tracks, the collection plunges listeners into the stygian depths of Gesaffelstein’s techno-enchantments.
Erupting as a dash of throbbing beats, “Digital Slaves” wormhole’s listeners through the fabric of time and lands at a 80s post-punk club. The track immediately welds the album’s tempo to the song’s harrowing energy. “Um, bring out the fun, jump in the void / Bring out the toys, jump over the rift,” Wagner groans, welcoming you into the warp of wickedly swirling sound that spills from GAMMA. His words tap into a bleak but potent futurism that’s equally soaked in nostalgia: “Cars, coolers, color TV / And dance, dance, dance to the digital mess.”
On the record’s second track, “Hard Dreams,” Gesaffelstein unloads daunting sonics to amplify the track’s obsessive, demented passion: “I see your face on the video screen / I’m your slave and you’re my queen / I picture ourselves in a Hollywood dream.” Like a blurry scene from Rodney Bingeneheimer’s English Disco, the song has a carnal strut that begs for your attention.
“Your Share of the Night” also functions as a portal of sorts, pushing you into the mystifying provocations of its heady imagery. “Under a blind sky / Shadows draped in vapor / Dancing ’round the pillar / Grunting in euphoria,” Wagner’s garbled vocals emerge from a sea of turbulent electronica. As the track languidly comes to a close, Gesaffelstein immediately throws listeners into a delightful “Hysteria.” With those 90s happy hardcore vibes, the sounds emanating provide a stellar dopamine rush.
Gesaffelstein then gives your heart rate a small break with “The Urge” — a synth-powered bop that embraces hot-blooded dance and romance delirium — before the whole thing cuts to a woozy and chanting outro. And just when you think things are about to get chill, “Mania” picks up where “Hysteria” left off. The track grinds and glistens through a raw electronic cacophony.
The moment foreshadows another shift in “Lost Love,” a swooning ballad of intoxicating melancholy and lovelorn dreaminess. Think Orville Peck meets sad Elvis.
Nevertheless, the slow sounds pick up a bit with “The Perfect” — a repetitive, hypnotic daydream of a number that instigates headbobs with every pulsating beat.
Absent of Wagner’s vocals, the closing instrumental tracks, “Psycho,” “Tyranny,” and “Emet” provide reminders of the colossal breadth of Gesaffelstein’s immersive soundscapes, where grueling bass and shrieking synths launch you through its thrumming topography and formidable atmospherics.
GAMMA captures the shadowy essence of Gesaffelstein’s music and persona — delivering a loaded tracklist of bewitching ragers that evoke all that makes him so damn beguiling in the first place. Despite being joined by Wagner, who lends his haunting vocals to the artist’s living avatar, the silver-masked demigod of experimental electronica remains a captivating enigma. The album leaves you enshrouded in unbridled ecstasy, haplessly seduced by the dark phantasmagoria Gesaffelstein conjures within.
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Words: Steven Ward & Sandra B. Olinger
Visit Gesaffelstein on his website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to GAMMA the new album from Gesaffelstein below!
Gesaffelstein
GAMMA
Columbia Records
March 29, 2024
01 Digital slaves
02 Hard dreams
03 Your share of the night
04 Hysteria
05 The urge
06 Mania
07 Lost love
08 The perfect
09 Psycho
10 Tyranny
11 Emet
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