“Gesaffelstein is an ambitious name,” he admits, “and it is something that just came to me when I was living in Belgium a few years ago. I want my music to be art, with something to say, but Einstein is about quantum physics too. That means the small things, the tiny things that change everything, the detail. Einstein always kept questioning and refining his ideas. That’s what I strive towards.”

To mainstream audiences Levy is known for collaborating with Kanye West on two standout tracks on 2013’s stunning ‘Yeezus’ album – the abrasive ‘Send It Up’ and the astonishing glam-punk rap riot ‘Black Skinhead’, a co-production with Daft Punk and Levy’s friend Brodinski. But Gesaffelstein has been building up a name among dance fans since the late Noughties. Releases on the OD, Zone and Bromance labels showcasing an ever-developing individual style with distinctive ominous undertones. Remixes for Lana del Rey, Justice, The Hacker, Laurent Garnier and heroes Depeche Mode put his unique sound – harsh but beautiful, sometimes brutal but always delicately structured – front and centre.

Gesaffelstein’s vision crystallised on ‘Aleph’s flagship single, the intense and insistent ‘Pursuit’, and especially its controversial video. Created by director duo Fleur & Manu it contrasted clinical images of sex, war and machines with gracious neo-classical living and Gesaffelstein’s pounding yet melodic track – an evocation of the dark human impulses connecting wealth, class and technology.

It’s the perfect taster for the sinister pleasures of ‘Aleph’, an album which refreshes a stale techno scene with the disturbing flavours that ran through Skinny Puppy, pre-pop Human League, Colourbox and even early Kraftwerk. On several tracks London singer Chloe Raunet – formerly of lo-fi electro band Battant on the Kill The DJ label, now working on her solo project C.A.R. – provides lyrics and vocals to compound the seductive atmosphere of prime newbeat or post-punk electronics: a fierce fema...