San Francisco, CA – Engimatic producer Gesaffelstein is officially back on tour.
The French artist born Mike Lévy opened his Fall 2019 Requiem tour at the Bill Graham Auditorium on Thursday, November 7, after making his grand return to the live stage at Coachella earlier this year, where he delivered two of the most widely admired sets across the festival’s two weekends in April, followed by a performance at The Governor’s Ball in May.
Donning his now trademark reflective black mask and accompanying outfit, the prince of dark techno stepped out from between the light-absorbing Vantablack backdrop first revealed at the Coachella set amid a wash of glowing back-light as the bass rumbled.
The ensuing hour was a unique display of masterful DJ mixing, elaborate lighting and stage production, and the malevolent 4/4 sound Gesaffelstein fans have come to adore.
With well over a decade of experience in the industry, the rise of Gessaffelstein’s notoriety began following his co-production work on the 2013 Kanye West album Yeezus, including credits on both Black Skinhead and Send It Up.
Just a few months later came the release of his own critically acclaimed work in the debut studio album Aleph. The project included fan favorite bangers Pursuit and Hate or Glory and cemented a reputation of aggressive, masterfully produced sound.
Gesaffelstein would go on to work with The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky, among others, before eventually releasing his sophomore album Hyperion in March of this year. The album breaks toward a more pop-centric style with another Weeknd collaboration in Lost in the Fire, as well as additional feature-based tracks such as Blast Off with Pharrell Williams and So Bad with Haim.
With just over a month remaining prior to the opening of the fall tour, the surprise release of a six-track EP, Novo Sonic System, brought fans a fresh trove of energetic music to enjoy and anticipate.
The show ebbed and flowed through each of Gesaffelstein’s major releases with the atmosphere reaching its peak when tracks from early in his career such as Viol and Opr from the Conspiracy Pt. 2 EP, and Hellafornia rang out prior to a climactic, albeit abrupt, ending brought on by the hard rock energy in fresh singles like Orck.
A Gesaffelstein live performance, much like every other aspect of the artist’s music and persona, is unlike anything else. And past patterns make it evident that no one knows when the chance to experience it firsthand will come again.
The Requiem tour will roll on with the second consecutive show at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles tonight followed by a stop in San Diego on Sunday, before making its way across the country through the month of November.
Following the headlining tour, Gesaffelstein will appear at the brand new Intersect festival in Las Vegas.
Find the full list of tour dates below. Tickets are available here.
11-09 Los Angeles, CA – Shrine Expo Hall
11-10 San Diego, CA – The Park at Petco Park
11-13 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
11-15 Detroit, MI – The Masonic
11-16 Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
11-20 Boston, MA – House of Blues Boston
11-22 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
11-13 Washington, DC – The Anthem
11-27 Atlanta, GA – Coco-Cola Roxy
12-06/07 Las Vegas, NV – Intersect Las Vegas
