Kavinsky found dead, the DJ author of the hit 'Nightcall'
The body of the French musician, who was 50 years old, has been located in his Paris home by the police, who speculate about a possible stroke
BarcelonaKavinsky, one of the most international figures in French electronic music, known primarily for the massive success of his track Nightcall –included in the soundtrack of the film Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)–, has been found dead by the French police at his home in Paris, as reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien. Police are investigating the possibility that the death is a consequence of a stroke, as in preceding days the musician had suffered very intense headaches. Vincent Belorgey, his real name, was one of the stars of the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, where he performed a version of Nightcall with the French band Phoenix and the Belgian singer Angèle.
Born on July 31, 1975, in Sena-Sant Denis, Vincent Belorgey dedicated himself to acting before beginning a two-decade musical career. It was director and DJ Quentin Dupieux —behind whom hides Mr. Oizo— and musician Jackson Fourgeaud —creator of Jackson and his Computerband— who helped him make his way. The first single as Kavinsky, Testarossa Autodrive, arrived in 2005, and was included on the EP Teddy Boy, his debut for the influential electronic music label Record Makers.
The positive reception of both Teddy boy and the second EP, 1986 (2007) and the single Nightcall (2010) allowed him to tour with other stars of the so-called French touch like Justice and Daft Punk. In fact, it was one of the members of Daft Punk, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, who produced Nightcall. When Nicolas Winding Refn chose it as the main theme for his film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, the song became a massive hit that catapulted Kavinsky's international career. In 2021, the song had accumulated over 250 million views on YouTube.
Kavinsky's first album, OutRun, did not arrive until 2013. It included, in addition to Nightcall, songs like Oddlook and Road game, as well as recovering Testarossa autodrive, which had a second life thanks to the remix by the renowned musician, producer, and DJ SebastiAn, and which was heard in video games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Almost a decade later, Kavinsky released a second album, Reborn (2022), which unfortunately has been his last.