Kavinsky: French DJ Best Known For ‘Nightcall’ Track Dies At 50

French DJ Kavinsky, who was best known internationally for his ‘Nightcall’ track which opened Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 film Drive,  has died at the age of 50.

French media reported that the music artist, producer and DJ was found dead at his home in Paris on Tuesday evening (July 28).

The Paris Prosecutors Office said in a statement said that an investigation had been opened into the cause of his death, noting that “first responders found no suspicious elements at the scene”.

Born Vincent Belorgey in Paris on July 31, 1975, Kavinsky was a key figure in the French Touch electro music scene alongside the likes of Daft Punk.

He achieved worldwide fame with his 2010 ‘Nightcall’ track after Winding Refn used it for his 2011 film Drive starring Ryan Gosling opposite Carey Mulligan as a Hollywood stunt driver moonlighting as a getaway driver.

Kavinsky had released the track – produced by Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Chriso – the previous year.

His cinema connections preceded the Drive breakout through his long collaborative friendship with musician and DJ turned director Quentin Dupieux.

He starred under his real name in Dupieux’s medium-length 2002 work Nonfilm, as the actor-protagonist who wakes up to find himself on a surreal film set, and also appeared in Dupieux’s first feature Steak (2007), which also featured his music.

More recently, he made a cameo appearance in Netflix French-language original Banger opposite Vincent starring Vincent Cassel as a jaded DJ.  

Across his career, Kavinsky released two albums: ‘OutRun’ in 2013 and ‘Reborn’ in 2022.

OutRun was created around the concept of a young man who crashes his red Ferrari Testarossa in 1986 and reappears in 2006 as zombie producer, with Kavinsky citing 1980s video games, Miami Vice and the films of Dario Argento as influences.

Kavinsky’s recent musical engagements include performing at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Games as part of a celebration of French electronic music at the Stade de France. At the time of his death, he was scheduled to perform at events in France, Mexico and L.A. in the coming months.