Kavinsky, the French electronic DJ and producer best known for his 2010 song “Nightcall,” has died at 50 years old.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed first responders found no suspicious elements at the musician’s Paris home, where he was found deceased on Tuesday (July 28), per BBC News. Prosecutors have opened an investigation to determine the cause of death. French newspaper Le Figaro, per Billboard, had reported that the musician complained of headaches in the days before he died.
Born Vincent Belorgey on July 31, 1975, the musician would have turned 51 in two days. An expert in synthwave and French house, Kavinsky built his platform while signed to French label Record Makers, releasing the EPs Teddy Boy, 1986, and Nightcall. The DJ would go on to open for French electronic duo Daft Punk on their Alive Tour in 2007.
"Nightcall" itself was a collaboration with Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, and featured vocals from Lovefoxxx of Brazilian indie outfit CSS. The song is recognizable for soundtracking the title sequence of 2011 action-thriller Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling. In a 2013 conversation with Interview, Kavinsky gushed about watching the film’s opening credits, sharing, "It was one of the best moments of my life. I was a kid in Disneyland."
His debut album OutRun arrived in 2013, the project being a conceptual album based around a man who dies in a 1986 car accident, only to reawaken as an electronic music-producing zombie 20 years later. Kavinsky’s second album, Reborn, was released in 2022 after a long hiatus, and the late musician also had credits for The Weeknd (“Odd Look”), Cautious Clay (“Renegade”) and more.
“So heartbreaking to hear the news,” Weeknd wrote in an X post on Wednesday (July 29). “An inspiration to so many, including myself. I will continue to honor your name and your music. Rest easy Kavinsky.”
