Kavinsky, Synthwave Pioneer Behind 'Nightcall,' Dies at 50

Investigation Underway in Paris

Vincent Belorgey, the French artist known as Kavinsky, was found dead on Tuesday evening at his home in Paris, according to French news outlet Le Figaro. The Paris prosecutors' office has opened an investigation into the cause of death and said in a statement that first responders had found "no suspicious elements" at the scene.

Belorgey had reportedly complained of headaches in the days leading up to his death. Authorities are now examining whether or not he suffered a stroke.

From Actor to Synthwave Architect

Born in Seine-Saint-Denis in 1975, Belorgey initially worked as an actor, appearing in films by influential French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, who makes music as Mr. Oizo. He later turned his attention to music production, building the character of Kavinsky around a fictional narrative: an undead driver who had returned from a fatal Ferrari crash to make electronic music styled after 1980s action films, arcade games and sports cars.

He released his first work through the influential French label Record Makers in the mid-2000s, putting out the EPs Teddy Boy and 1986 before the single that would define his career. The brooding Nightcall, released in 2010, was a slow-burning, palpitating track built around a vocoded hook and a sense of dread that felt fitting for a midnight highway chase.

Drive and a Cultural Moment

The song's reputation was transformed a year later, when director Nicolas Winding Refn used it to open his film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling as a stoic, nameless getaway driver. The pairing of image and sound became inseparable in the minds of a generation of viewers, and Nightcall has since been streamed over half a billion times on Spotify alone.

During the closing ceremony at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Belorgey welcomed Angèle and Phoenix onstage for a performance of Nightcall. The track broke a Shazam record when more people used the app to discover a song than in any single minute before.

Belorgey, who at one point toured with Daft Punk, was 50. The team at EDMSource expresses our sincere condolences to the family, fans, friends and loved ones of Kavinsky.