Kavinsky

French musician (born 1975)

Kavinsky

Kavinsky in 2014

Background information
Birth name| Vincent Pierre Claude Belorgey
Born|  (1975-07-31) 31 July 1975 (age 50)
Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Genres|

* French house
* synthwave[1]

Years active| 2005–present
Labels|

* Record Makers
* Vertigo
* Universal Music France
* Casablanca/Republic

Musical artist

Vincent Belorgey[2] (born 31 July 1975), known professionally as Kavinsky, is a French musician, producer, DJ, and actor.[3][4] His production style is reminiscent of the electropop film soundtracks of the 1980s.[5] Kavinsky claims that his music is inspired by thousands of movies he watched as a young boy and that he has cherry-picked the best parts from them, consolidating them into one concept.[6] Kavinsky has been compared to many similar French house artists, including Danger and French duo Daft Punk. He achieved greater mainstream recognition after his song "Nightcall" was featured in the 2011 film Drive. His debut studio album, OutRun, was released in 2013.

## Biography

[edit]

Kavinsky in 2007

After years as an actor, Kavinsky's musical career started in 2005 after being inspired by his close friends Jackson Fourgeaud and Quentin Dupieux, the latter director also included Kavinsky's music in his film Steak. During this period Kavinsky produced his first single "Testarossa Autodrive" which was inspired by the Testarossa model of Ferrari (one of which Vincent drives in real life).[6] Kavinsky presented the single to Quentin, who in turn presented it to a record label he had access to because of his filming career, and Kavinsky signed with Record Makers.[7][8]

Kavinsky went on to release three EPs on the Record Makers label: Teddy Boy in 2006, 1986 a year later, and Nightcall with Lovefoxxx of CSS in 2010.[8] Kavinsky toured alongside Daft Punk, The Rapture, Justice, and SebastiAn in 2007.[9]

The SebastiAn remix of "Testarossa Autodrive" off the 1986 EP is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto IV and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Kavinsky's single "Nightcall" was featured in the opening credits of the film Drive, and became a major hit soon after.[9]

In December 2012 he released "ProtoVision" and on 25 February 2013 released his debut studio album OutRun.[10][11]

In November 2021, he returned from his seven year hiatus with the lead single "Renegade" from his second studio album Reborn.[12] The song is produced by Gaspard Augé and Victor Le Masne.

In 2024 Kavinsky performed Nightcall alongside Phoenix and Angèle at the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Paris.

## Character history

[edit]

Kavinsky is a character made by Vincent Belorgey that has a striking resemblance to Vincent himself but the backstory does not follow anything in Belorgey's history. Kavinsky's story is that after crashing his Testarossa in 1986, he reappeared as a zombie in 2006 to make his own electronic music.[7] Kavinsky's songs help tell his story; Vincent claims in an interview, "'Night Call' is just about the zombie guy [who] goes to his girlfriend's house and says okay I'm not the same, we need to talk", referring to Kavinsky going back to find his girlfriend after the crash who has already moved on with her life.[8]

## Equipment

[edit]

In an interview, Kavinsky stated that the entirety of Teddy Boy was written and recorded on a Yamaha DX7, which was famous and notable for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.[13] Kavinsky originally started making music on an old Apple computer given to him by his friend Mr. Oizo.[8]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions  Title  | Album details  | Peak chart positions

|
|

FRA
[14] | BEL
(FL)
[15] | BEL
(WA)
[16] | GER
[17] | SCO
[18] | SWI
[19] | UK
[20] | UK
Dance
[18] | US
[21] | US
Dance
[22]
OutRun |

* Released: 22 February 2013
* Label: Record Makers
* Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl

| 2  | 37  | 28  | —  | —  | 38  | 159  | 8  | 156  | 5
Reborn |

* Released: 25 March 2022
* Label: Record Makers
* Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl

| 13  | 172  | 20  | 56  | 64  | 32  | —[A] | 3  | —  | —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

### Extended plays

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Release date  | Label

|
|
|

2006  | Teddy Boy | 16 January 2006 | Record Makers
2007  | 1986 | 20 February 2007
2008  | Blazer | 1 July 2008 | Fool's Gold Records
2010  | Nightcall | 26 March 2010 | Record Makers
2011  | Nightcall (Anniversary Edition) | 11 November 2011
2013  | ProtoVision | 11 February 2013
Odd Look | 22 February 2013

### Singles

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications | Album

|
|
|
|

FRA
[14] | BEL
(FL)
[15] | BEL
(WA)
[16] | SCO
[23] | SWI
[19] | UK
[18] | UK
Dance
[18] | UK
Indie
[18] | US
Dance
[24]
"Nightcall"
(featuring Lovefoxxx) | 2010  | 10 | 28 | 16 | 72 | — | 60 | 37 | 29 | —[B] |

* BPI: Silver[26]

| OutRun
"Roadgame"  | 2012  | 12 | — | —[C] | — | 74 | — | — | — | —  |
"ProtoVision"  | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Odd Look"
(featuring SebastiAn) | 2013  | 46 | — | — | — | — | —[D] | — | — | —  |
"Blizzard"  | 167 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Odd Look"
(featuring The Weeknd) | — | 18 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 46  |  | Odd Look and Kiss Land
"Renegade"[27]
(featuring Cautious Clay) | 2021  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |  | Reborn
"Zenith"  | 2022  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Nightcall"[28]
(with Angèle and Phoenix) | 2024  | 3
[29] | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | —  |  | Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

### Remixes

[edit]

Year  | Artist  | Title

|
|

2007 | Klaxons | "Gravity's Rainbow"
M.I.A. | "Roder" (A-Trak Re-work)
2008 | Sébastien Tellier | "Roche"
2011 | SebastiAn | "Embody"

### Music videos

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Release date  | Label

|
|
|
|

2006  | "Testarossa Autodrive"  | Jonas & François  | 23 June 2006 | Record Makers
2009  | "Dead Cruiser"  | —  | February 2009
2012  | "ProtoVision"[30] | Marcus Herring  | 12 December 2012
2013  | "Odd Look"  | 6 August 2013
2021  | "Renegade"  | Alexandre Courtès  | 19 November 2021
2022  | "Cameo"  | Filip Nilsson  | 25 Mars 2022

### Soundtracks

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Song

|
|
|

2011 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Brad Furman | "Nightcall"
2011 | Drive | Nicolas Winding Refn | "Nightcall"

### Video games

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Platform  | Song

|
|
|

2007 | Gran Turismo 5 Prologue | PlayStation 3 | "Testarossa Autodrive (SebastiAn Remix)"
2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | "Testarossa Autodrive (SebastiAn Remix)"
2008 | Midnight Club: Los Angeles | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable | "Wayfarer"
2013 | Kavinsky | Downloadable app, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows | OutRun album
2013 | Gangstar Vegas | Downloadable app | Nightcall
2022 | MLB The Show 22 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch | "Renegade (feat. Cautious Clay)"

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Role

|
|
|

2001 | Nonfilm | Quentin Dupieux | Pattt
2003 | Aaltra | Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine | Agent SNCF
2004 | Atomik Circus, le retour de James Bataille | Didier Poiraud and Thierry Poiraud | Boon / Ricardo Bello-Radio Skotlett
2005 | Ultranova | Bouli Lanners | Verbrugghe
2007 | Steak | Quentin Dupieux | Dan

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Reborn did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 45 on the UK Album Sales Chart.[18]
2. ^ "Nightcall" did not enter the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, but peaked at number 5 on the Dance Single Sales chart.[25]
3. ^ "Roadgame" did not enter the Wallonie Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 32 on the Ultratip chart.[16]
4. ^ "Odd Look" did not enter the UK Single Sales Chart, but peaked at number 84 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.[18]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Christopher Higgins (29 July 2014). "The 7 Most Essential Synthwave Artists". Nerdglow.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
2. ^ As credited in the film Drive.
3. ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
4. ^ "Kavinsky Game Lands on Google Play, French House Music and Ferraris Forever". www.droid-life.com. 8 July 2013.
5. ^ "Portishead's Geoff Barrow to release 'Drive' soundtrack on vinyl | News". Nme.Com. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
6. ^ a b "Kavinsky on BIGSTEREO". This.bigstereo.net. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
7. ^ a b Rhoads, Celeste. "Kavinsky - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
8. ^ a b c d Belorgey, V. (5 October 2011). Kavinsky (Interview by A. Mendoza & R. Oh) [Blog post]. Retrieved from BIGSTEREO website: "Kavinsky on BIGSTEREO". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
9. ^ a b Linkedin, & Slideshare. (28 January 2012). Kavinsky (Speech transcript). Retrieved 12 December 2012, from Slideshare website
10. ^ Staff. (10 December 2012). Kavinsky: "ProtoVision" (Steam/Official Video) Editorial. Retrieved 14 December 2012, from Prefixmag website
11. ^ "Timeline Photos". Facebook. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
12. ^ Middleton, Ryan (19 October 2021). "Kavinsky Announces New Album 'Reborn,' Single Arriving Next Month". Magnetic Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
13. ^ "Kavinsky Interview". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
14. ^ a b "lescharts.com - Discographie Kavinsky". lescharts.com.
15. ^ a b "Kavinsky page". Ultratop.be/nl/. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
16. ^ a b c "Kavinsky page". Ultratop.be/fr/. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
17. ^ "Discographie Kavinsky". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
18. ^ a b c d e f g "Kavinsky: full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
19. ^ a b "Discographie Kavinsky". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
20. ^ "Chart Log UK – Weekly Updates Sales 2013". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
21. ^ "Kavinsky Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
22. ^ "Kavinsky Chart History: Top Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
23. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 4/12/2020 Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
24. ^ "Kavinsky Chart History: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
25. ^ "Kavinsky Chart History: Dance Single Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
26. ^ "British certifications – Kavinsky". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 September 2024. Type Kavinsky in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
27. ^ Aubrey, Elizabeth (19 November 2021). "Kavinsky shares first new music in over eight years with 'Renegade'". NME. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
28. ^ "Phoenix Join Forces With Angèle and Kavinsky to Release Viral Cover of "Nightcall": Listen". Pitchfork. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
29. ^ "Top Singles (Week 39, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
30. ^ "Kavinsky - Protovision". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Kavinsky at Wikimedia Commons
* Kavinsky on Facebook
* Kavinsky on SoundCloud
* Kavinsky on Twitter
* Kavinsky on Bandcamp
* Kavinsky at Record Makers Archived 28 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine
* Fool's Gold: Interview with Kavinsky

* v
* t
* e

Kavinsky

Studio albums|

* OutRun
* Reborn

EPs|

* Teddy Boy

Singles|

* "Nightcall"
* "Odd Look"

Related articles|

* Drive

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template