Kavinsky
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Vincent Belorgey (born 31 July 1975), known professionally as Kavinsky, is a French musician, producer, DJ, and actor. His production style is reminiscent of the
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...
film soundtracks of the 1980s. 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. Kavinsky has been compared to many similar French house artists, including
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
and
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. He achieved greater mainstream recognition after his song " Nightcall" was featured in the 2011 film ''
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...
''. His debut studio album, ''
OutRun (also stylized as ''OutRun'') is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, an ...
'', was released in 2013.


Biography

After many 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 The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from 1 ...
model of
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
(one of which Vincent drives in real life). 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.Belorgey, V. (5 October 2011). Kavinsky (Interview by A. Mendoza & R. Oh) log post Retrieved from BIGSTEREO website: Kavinsky went on to release three EPs on the Record Makers label: '' Teddy Boy'' in 2006, ''
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
'' a year later, and '' Nightcall'' with
Lovefoxxx Luísa Hanae Matsushita (born February 25, 1984), known by her stage name Lovefoxxx, is the lead singer of the Brazilian indie band Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS). Early life and career Lovefoxxx was born in Campinas, Brazil. She is of Portuguese, ...
of
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in 2010. Kavinsky toured alongside
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
,
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,
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, and SebastiAn in 2007.Linkedin, & Slideshare. (28 January 2012). Kavinsky (Speech transcript). Retrieved 12 December 2012, from Slideshare website
/ref> The SebastiAn remix of "Testarossa Autodrive" off the ''1986'' EP is featured in the video games ''
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'' and '' Gran Turismo 5 Prologue''. Kavinsky's single "Nightcall" was featured in the opening credits of the film ''
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...
'', and became a major hit soon after. In December 2012 he released "ProtoVision" and on 25 February 2013 released his debut studio album ''OutRun''. In November 2021, he returned from his seven year hiatus with the lead single "Renegade" from his second studio album ''
Reborn Reborn may refer to: Film *''Reborn'', a 2015 video produced by the Augustine Institute * ''Re:Born'' (film), a 2016 Japanese action film * ''Reborn'' (film), a 2018 American horror film Music * Reborn (band), a Moroccan death metal band Albums ...
''. The song is produced by
Gaspard Augé Gaspard Augé (; born 21 May 1979 in Besançon) is a French musician and graphic designer. He is one of the two members of French electronic music duo Justice. Biography Augé was born into a family of Protestant industrialists from Besançon, ...
and Victor Le Masne.


Character history

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. Kavinsky's songs help tell his story; Vincent claims in an interview, "'Night Call' is just about the zombie guy hogoes 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.


Equipment

In interview, Kavinsky stated that the entirety of '' Teddy Boy'' was written and recorded on a
Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...
, which was famous and notable for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s. Kavinsky originally started making music on an old Apple computer given to him by his friend Mr. Oizo.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles

* Did not appear in the official Belgian Wallonia Ultratop 50 chart, but peaked at number 32 on the Ultratip chart.


Remixes


Music videos


Soundtracks


Video games


Filmography


References


External links

* * * *
Kavinsky on Bandcamp

Kavinsky at Record Makers

Fool's Gold: Interview with Kavinsky
{{Authority control 1975 births 21st-century French male musicians French DJs French dance musicians French house musicians Living people People from Seine-Saint-Denis Synthwave musicians