GESAFFELSTEIN - Hyperion

Forget everything you remember about Mike Lévy. The industrial-techno lashings, the dark and aggressive videos, the sinister, decadent aesthetic: only scattered traces of all that remain today. Six years after the release of "Aleph", the Gesaffelstein of 2019 is the very definition of coolness. Fresh off signing to a major label, with just the right attitude to avoid accusations of selling out, the producer is the latest in a line of French club-music artists capable of making the leap to mainstream audiences, bringing along a whole wealth of experience to reshape what the broader public expects. Having already had a taste of this with the tracks he produced for Kanye West's "Yeezus", with "Hyperion" Lévy savours every course, recruiting some genuinely top-tier names to his cause and offering a sound updated for his new field of action. But is this shift in perspective enough on its own to leave a lasting impression? Answering that question is no easy task.

In a sense, "Hyperion" marks a welcome change of direction for the Lyon-based producer, a project that sees him indulge his more atmospheric instincts and revive the nostalgic, evocative traits that had already permeated his most recent output, including his recent appearance on The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy," by The Weeknd. Openly displaying his passion for analogue synths and retro-futuristic settings, the Frenchman, freshly signed to Columbia, gives his past a considerable shove, harnessing the power of nuance and melody like never before. The results vindicate the choice whenever Gesaffelstein breaks free of pop impulses and gives his creativity all the room it needs to breathe. That's the case with the closing "Humanity Gone", just under eleven minutes of slow-drifting synth-ambient flows, where grandiose organ passages and a drowsy atmospheric backdrop come together in a majestic intergalactic tableau, lightly threaded with placid jazz touches and rarefied rhythmic patterns. There's plenty to chew on in less expansive tracks too, from the furrowed urban textures of "Reset" to the tight synth-wave progression of "Vortex", nicely suited to the author's new melodic designs.

The trick works a lot less well wherever the artist's sound takes on a vocal element, veering into full-blown pop-song territory. However professional and technically sound, Gesaffelstein's contribution to the cause of pop and r&b melts away like snow in the sun, too ordinary to make a real mark on the conversation (the faded effervescence of "Forever", weakened by a vocal performance lacking any bite), or conversely too idiosyncratic to truly play its cards in that territory (the aching dark-synth venture "So Bad", alongside Haim).

And while Lévy does have two deluxe guest spots in his favour (a Weeknd returning the favour on the romantic, if predictable, electro-r&b of "Lost In The Fire", Pharrell Williams on the charismatic cyber-funk of "Blast Off"), they still stand out almost as rare exceptions within an album sailing in a completely different direction, one that could probably have done without all the vocal scaffolding. It's a shame that, because of this split identity, "Hyperion" ends up squandering all the potential it builds up, consigning an otherwise welcome evolution to oblivion. Did the urge to climb the mainstream ladder come too soon?

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25/04/2019