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It should go without saying at this point that 2024 has been a wild year for music. We’ve seen artists like Chappell Roan go from sleeper hitmaker to megastar almost overnight. We’ve seen albums like BRAT absolutely dominate pop culture to the point where its aesthetic has been used in American political campaigns (to varying levels of success). We’ve seen diss tracks like “Not Like Us” top the charts for record amounts of time with lyrics focused almost entirely on allegations that I probably shouldn’t discuss in my first-ever article. 2024 has seen just an immense amount of crazy good music. 

But unfortunately, not every 10/10 album gets their moment in the spotlight. I’ve made peace with the idea that not everyone thinks that my opinion on music is completely objective, and that I can’t just summon a Grammy into existence for all my favorite artists. Even so, I still can’t help but be incredibly dismayed at the reception (or lack thereof) of the new Gesaffelstein album, GAMMA. 

You may be thinking that you’ve never heard of Gesaffelstein and, by extension, his music. Right off the bat, you’re probably wrong. While he is an incredibly accomplished artist, he is mostly known for his work as a producer for others rather than his own solo work. In fact, the main reason I bothered to listen to BRAT when it came out is because Gesaffelstein, aka Mike Levy of Lyon, France, produced two tracks on that album (“B2b” and “I Might Say Something Stupid”). He’s also worked with Kanye West on his album Yeezus, credited as a producer on the tracks “Black Skinhead” and “Send It Up”. However, his biggest collaboration was with The Weeknd, with whom he worked on the songs “Hurt You” and “I Was Never There” off the album My Dear Melancholy in 2018. Following the release of Melancholy, The Weeknd would once again lend his vocals for Gesaffelstein’s album Hyperion with a mildly homophobic feature on the song “Lost in the Fire” (Gesaffelstein would later make up for this by producing the song “J CHRIST” by Lil Nas X, though). 

These songs have all gained massive success, with the collaborations with The Weeknd alone netting around 2.5 billion streams on Spotify. It’s no secret that Gesaffelstein has a crazy resume, having worked with producers like Mike Dean and Daft Punk on top of the star-studded list of vocal collaborators. But despite all of that, his new album GAMMA is probably his worst-performing project sitting around 7.5 million total streams on Spotify. Sure, it was only released this past March, but I’ve seen basically zero conversations about this album outside of Gesaffelstein’s own fanbase. Despite being a producer with songs like “B2b” and “I Was Never There” under his belt, there’s a remarkable lack of fanfare or anything for this album. So, what gives? Why isn’t GAMMA reaching anywhere close to the same reception as his previous work? 

While GAMMA is a fantastic album, there isn’t really a whole lot for fans of his more mainstream hits to latch onto. It’s very much the antithesis of Gesaffelstein’s previous album Hyperion. Hyperion is… an okay album. It was released the year following Gesaffelstein’s work on My Dear Melancholy, and very much follows the same production style. It’s very poppy, and while it does have some elements from Gesaffelstein’s electronic background, it definitely feels like he’s trying to capitalize on his pop production chops. It’s not bad, but it’s a major step down from his early EPs and his debut album Aleph which plunge the listener into dystopian industrial techno fever dreams that make you wonder if Hyperion was even made by the same guy. That said, in terms of streaming numbers, Hyperion absolutely dwarfs all of Gesaffelstein’s other projects with upwards of 950 million streams on Spotify. While most of those streams are from Lost in the Fire, it’s the only Gesaffelstein album to get super mainstream success and has many of his more recognizable songs from a mainstream standpoint. GAMMA, on the other hand, is a near-total opposite of Hyperion.

I suppose after about five entire paragraphs I should probably actually talk about the album that inspired me to write this article in the first place. While Hyperion is a very digestible, marketable project with a whole slew of songs that fit neatly into any popular dance/pop Spotify playlist, GAMMA is not. GAMMA is an eerie, industrial techno/EBM/New Wave fusion with heavy inspiration from bands like Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk, combined with Gesaffelstein’s signature hard-hitting production found in his earlier projects like Aleph and Conspiracy. It has songs like “Hard Dreams” and “Your Share of the Night”, which feature this distorted, grimy, mechanical synthpop style combined with a chilling vocal performance from the only collaborator on this album, Yan Wagner. There are about 6 of these new-wave songs on this 11-track album, with my favorite being “The Urge”. It’s got this quick, addictive chugging rhythm and borrows a lot of influence (and a sample or two) from Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express. “The Urge” also has this super sudden beat switch into a much slower, jazzier segment that kinda shows up out of nowhere but absolutely blew my mind when I heard it for the first time. Overall, this half of the album is spectacular. The lyrics aren’t much to write home about, being rather repetitive and vague, but Wagner’s slick, oily vocal performance makes up for it tenfold. Even with this spectacular yet bizarre collection of synthpop songs though, I feel like GAMMA’s instrumental tracks are really what make this album shine. 

The instrumental tracks on GAMMA, while most likely meant to be secondary to the new-wave elements, are probably some of my favorite songs to release this year. They’re generally placed throughout the album between the synthpop tracks but aren’t incredibly alienating and pack a crazy punch if you’re looking for something a little less Depeche-Modey. These tracks play 100% into Gesaffelstein’s industrial techno roots, with my personal favorites “Psycho” and “Hysteria” having some of the best production on this album. “Psycho” is definitely the weirdest track on this album- it’s a distorted two-minute-long drum solo. Even with limited time and instrument selection, however, Gesaffelstein makes it work. “Psycho” proves that Gesaffelstein is a master at building intensity and rhythm without committing the worst musical sin: being boring. The distorted drums bounce from one ear to the other, slowly climbing over each other and building into this intense, marching rhythm serving as one of GAMMA’s highest points. And yet, Gesaffelstein manages to outdo “Psycho” with probably my favorite track on the entire album.

“Hysteria” is an overdriven, thrashy, and warped techno workout that feels like a shot of adrenaline straight to the jugular. It’s such a crazy, yet simple track with distorted, repeating synth patterns and strangely meticulous drum fills throughout. The fact that this track is only two minutes long and packs this much of a punch is a testament to how effective GAMMA is as an album. Despite the short runtime of about 27 minutes, despite the lack of super complex and groundbreaking sounds from Aleph or star power from Hyperion, GAMMA is an incredibly powerful record and shows that Gesaffelstein doesn’t need to send you to a different dimension and back to get you moving. 

The beauty of GAMMA is that Gesaffelstein is finally breaking out of his pop-producer rut of the past few years. After the release of Hyperion, Gesaffelstein released the EP Novo Sonic System which is incredibly similar to the instrumental tracks on GAMMA and bears many similarities to his work shortly after the release of Aleph back in 2013. It is my personal theory (and I cannot stress enough that this is purely a THEORY) that Gesaffelstein always wanted to continue his work in techno, but the success of his collaborations with The Weeknd may have caused him to sideline this aspect of his career in favor of the more lucrative option. This is why some songs Novo Sonic System, despite being released after Gesaffelstein’s apparent transition to a pop producer, sound very similar to his “Hate or Glory” remix from 2014. I think it’s also worth noting that none of the tracks from Hyperion were played (outside of brief snippets) on Gesaffelstein’s current Enter the Gamma tour while still including two tracks from Novo Sonic System. 

After years of either being the guy who did three songs with The Weeknd, the guy who worked on “B2b”, or the guy who sometimes has his music slowed and reverberated for TikTok edits, Gesaffelstein is making the music he wants to make and clearly has so much passion for it. But it just doesn’t have as much of the superstar backing as Hyperion or the novel eeriness of Aleph. It’s a passion project, but sometimes passion isn’t enough to make a hit. I do hope that someday, either by the grace of the TikTok or YouTube algorithm or some other abstract and mythical force, that this album gets some more ears on it. It’s a fantastic piece of work and despite its flaws, is nothing short of my favorite Gesaffelstein album and my favorite album of 2024.

Weekday shows have always irked me a little; standing in a crowd at 9 pm, with that lingering dread of class the next morning sitting idly in the back of my mind. It takes a special kind of music to cut through that sadness, and thankfully L’Escogriffe Bar had exactly that this past Tuesday night. 

What originally sucked me out of my final paper procrastination den and onto the cold windy landscape of Rue St Denis was Brooklyn producer turned musical multi-hyphenate Anysia Kym. I’ve been using Kym’s newest album, Truest, to drown out my roommates all semester, and as soon as I saw her name on a bill I jumped to get tickets. To my luck, she happened to be opening for Philadelphia weirdo Body Meat, an artist whose raw musicality is enough to put most of his peers to shame (think of an electronic Mk.Gee for millennials, in the best way possible). This double feature of sonic forward thinkers had me bouncing around L’Esco like an idiot, but before I was allowed to get too excited I was subjected to something potentially horrible: a local opener. 

Thankfully, local electronic trio Gladhanding kicked total ass. With experimental pop being as widespread and mainstream as it’s ever been, it feels (to me) as though the genre is a little oversaturated; Gladhanding fights tooth and nail to not fall victim to this, as every sound jammed through the amps last Tuesday felt fresh. While this didn’t always make for the most enjoyable music, the trio still seemed to get their message across: they are doing what they want, and having a delightful time doing it. After my ears calibrated a little more to the blaring synth lines and electronically-possessed vocals, I found myself enjoying what Gladhanding had to offer. As I’ve always said, is it really good music if you don’t have to work to enjoy it a little?

After a quick intermission spent ogling at the characteristically overpriced merch, Anysia Kym took the stage in all her DIY glory. Kym’s self-introduction was fairly tentative, and it's easy to see why; this was the first show on Kym’s first-ever opening tour, and she is still pretty fresh off the release of her first album to predominantly feature her own voice. Still, with nothing but an SP-555 and a MacBook in hand, the Brooklyn DJ powered through, and did so with relative ease. All of Kym’s on-stage work features her own live beat creation, shaping samples on her 555 in real-time. This gave the whole performance a really personal feel, as each song felt distinctly of that moment, filled with short bursts of improvisational chops. Kym’s sound feels impossibly physical, each loop feeling as tactile as pressing a button yourself. Her vocals contrast this beautifully, floating completely untethered over each track as if both components just happened to end up in the room together, perfectly synchronized. It feels like the music you would hear in a recurring dream, that fragments into a million disjointed pieces upon waking up. It’s no wonder Body Meat claims she’s the future of music.

Considering the music Body Meat displayed to L’Esco not 10 minutes later, that statement is a huge compliment. The second Chris Taylor took the stage the room filled with tiny-beanie-toting millennial hipsters, like they sprung from the floorboards. As much as I try to distance myself from this demographic, their music tastes seem to align a worrying amount with mine; Body Flesh was no different. What followed was 45 minutes of a variable music cluster bomb, jumping from glitchy experimental pop cuts to borderline nu-metal tracks with R&B melodies. To say Taylor’s music is over-produced would be a rude understatement, but every component jammed into his sound still comes together perfectly, like the weirdest ever sonic puzzle. This is all complimented by Body Meat’s animated, electronic voice, pushed through filter after filter but somehow maintaining a beautiful raw character. It’s not hard to draw comparisons between Taylor’s voice and someone like Bladee’s (take that as you will), both possessing an almost rugged charm in their vocal deliveries. Would I say that Body Meat is a good singer? Classically, no. Does that mean that someone like Jessica Pratt would sound better on any of his cuts? Also no. The rawness of Taylor’s voice cuts through the heavy instrumentals like butter, and makes for a captivatingly personal performance.

All in all, L’Esco hosted exactly what I had expected for this night: a display of what feels like the future of music. Glitchy, funky, and a little all over the place, I was the furthest from disappointed one can be. Check out Body Meat’s newest release Starchris here, and Anysia Kym’s latest work Truest here.

Sam Kitch is the magazine editor at CJLO 1690AM. He is also the host of I Think You Might Like This, a hip-hop show airing Tuesdays at 2:00 PM.

Tinashe’s world tour show at MTELUS did not live up to the level of freak I expected. The R&B legend, who’s been in the game for over a decade, gained more popularity with her album Quantum Baby riding the wave of Brat Summer. The show was well done and long, the dancers and Tinashe were very talented, but there was a lack of aesthetic continuance. Song transitions felt disjointed, as if there was a slew of creative directors who didn’t talk to each other. I was expecting a Sweat Tour type of experience, with Tinashe’s music gaining strong popularity in the Charli XCX Brat club crowd with her leading single “Nasty” a testament to needing a freaky hottie who can keep up, yet this did not carry through to her show.

The opener was ethereal American singer-songwriter Raveena. She was sweet and heartwarming and had fans in the audience, but I found she was not a good opener for Tinashe. Openers are meant to raise the audience's energy levels, to prepare them for the headliner, and their music should be compatible. Raveena’s soft jazz-influenced R&B did not do this. Her music feels very ‘floaty’, like you’re relaxing in a bed of the fluffiest pillows under the giant tree of ribbons and pearls she had on stage. When Tinashe eventually came on stage the change from cuddly cuteness to sexy and sweaty was drastic. Raveena would have done better at a smaller, more intimate venue where her fans are eager to drain their phone batteries using their flashlights during her multiple ballads.

As the crew was rolling out and screwing in the set ahead of Tinashe, a girl next to me said to her friend: ‘ok budget’. That sums it up pretty well. There were multiple giant screens at the back of the stage that showed ads for some perfume company partnered with Tinashe, and played videos throughout her set. The videos were cool, sometimes playing snippets from her music videos, sometimes acting like a backdrop, but I found them to be quite distracting, especially when the video was Tinashe covered in slime. Tinashe’s four dancers were impressive and hot, it was cool to see them just hanging out and goofing around on stage one minute, then perfectly falling into the choreography the next. My favorite part of the show was when the camera operator right at the barricade in front of the stage would video Tinashe and project it onto the screens, creating a giant Tinashe standing behind her. 

The level of interaction between Tinashe and the audience was interesting. She didn’t talk much between the songs, and there was no encore, but during the last two songs, ‘Broke Boys’ and ‘Nasty’, the cameras would turn towards the audience, projecting us onto the stage screens. After the applause died down Tinashe signed autographs for fans in the front row, which I wasn’t expecting to see after she barely greeted us during the show. I feel like when artists get big they detach themselves from their fans, for good reason, so it was nice to see that Tinashe didn’t seem to need to do that.

Earlier that evening I saw a headline about the show that Tinashe gets hot and intimate with one of her dancers, I was expecting, again, a Sweat Tour moment of Troye Sivan serenading and grinding on a dancer. The sexy moments between Tinashe and the dancer were hot but short, feeling more like a piece of choreography rather than part of the performance itself. Where is the freak we’re supposed to be matching? 

My problem with this concert is it felt like they were trying to do too many different things. Just before Tinashe came on stage there was an opening video, made just like the ‘Nasty’ music video of a post-apoctalypitc-desert-escape-superhuman-convict vibe, creating anticipation for a concept that would carry us through the show. That did not happen. The projected videos would change drastically between songs, and often didn’t make any sense, like, why was she covered in slime for two whole minutes? I wish there were more of a continued aesthetic throughout the show, it felt disjointed and almost awkward, the creative directors could’ve built a sexy superhero-type narrative, employing the multiple prop structures of security cameras to create an ‘evading the police plus I’m sexy and covered in dirt’ moment that reflected the vibe of the album and single covers. 

Tinashe is a really talented artist and singer, and she demonstrated that well, but I was missing the freak she touts in ‘Nasty’ like she wasn’t even matching her own freak. The dancing, the outfits, the makeup, all of this could’ve been freakier, but it felt like she was trying to cater to a more ‘basic’ crowd rather than the freaks. The audience was really diverse, Tinashe’s been making popular music for 10 years now, yet I wish I saw more alternative representation. In her discography you can hear her movement away from mainstream straight club hits to something more alternative and interesting, but it seems that hasn’t permeated through her fan base yet. There were a lot of normies, and the type of girl squads that force their way through a crowd when there is clearly no space for them. I wonder if Tinashe held some of her freak back because of these demographics. Someone did bring a small child who sat on their parent's shoulders and danced, sending hand hearts to Tinashe who would respond with smiles. It was really adorable, so it's understandable that Tinashe’s creative team didn’t want her leaning into the hedonistic sluttiness that exudes from her recent albums. But still, I’m left wondering where that freak that I’m supposed to be matching is.

This last Wednesday, November 6th, at the cozy Bar le Ritz, I had the opportunity to see the indie singer-songwriter, Odie Leigh. The folk singer was here to tour her new album Carrier Pigeon, though you may know her through Tiktok for her song “Crop Circles”. I was introduced to Odie Leigh during a time in my life where I was doing some serious soul-searching. I feel this encapsulates how her songwriting impacts her listeners. Her song “As Sure As I’m Speaking Now” particularly resonates with me. 

Bar Le Ritz PDB was the perfect venue for a show like this. The cozy wooden bar made it an intimate space for us all to focus on the music. Odie Leigh introduced this engaging performance by asking the audience to scream out their names, the back was quieter, so she asked again & we all passionately screamed our names again. This separated her from other folk singers I’ve seen live as she treats the audience like people, not just fans or numbers at a show. The passion in Odie Leigh’s voice when she was singing “Either/Way” was cathartic. She then made us sing for her the last chorus while she and her bassist vehemently played their instruments.

Odie Leigh has a way with words that is refreshing for this new revival of folk music in the mainstream. Her vulnerability in her lyrics engages her fans & creates a close bond between those who listen to her music. She has the same effect live. As we know, Donald Trump was declared the new president-elect on November 6th. Odie Leigh shared with us how much she loves Canada and how weird it is to be away from the US in a time like this. The audience went quiet out of respect for her and her bandmates who were discussing their mixed feelings about performing on that day. I felt this was a beautiful moment that made me feel connected to her music even more. 

She continued on by playing her song “A month or two” sharing anecdotes about the man she wrote this song about. She was making many jokes throughout the set that pleased the audience & me. Specifically, when her guitar amp was turned off and her bassist stepped in to help, she laughed and made us give her a round of applause. She finished off her set with her song “Take Back”, withstanding the same timbre and fierceness that she begins with. As I looked around, I saw members of the crowd with tears of joy, some of awe & some I saw crying as certain lyrics hit them. I believe this captures the wide variety of feelings an Odie Leigh show evokes in her audience.

Taina is the co-host of Whatever She Wants, on air Wednesdays 12pm - 1pm