Kavinsky, the last trip of the pilot of the Testarossa

With the disappearance ofKavinskyFrench electronic music loses one of its most singular creators. Behind this pseudonym was Vincent Belorgey, a discreet artist who became a world reference thanks to an immediately recognizable universe made of analog synthesizers, neons, desert roads and Ferrari Testarossa launched in the night. His character, inspired by a driver returning from the dead after an accident, had eventually gone beyond fiction to become a real icon of synthwave.

The general public had discovered withNightcall, become inseparable from the filmDriveby Nicolas Winding Refn. In a few minutes, this hypnotic melody imposed a new musical aesthetic: a mixture of nostalgia from the 1980s, melancholic romanticism and electronic power. Few works have so marked a generation of cinemaphiles and electronic music lovers.

But Kavinsky was not a single piece. WithTestarossa Autodrive,Roadgame,Provision,Odd Look,Renegadeor the albumOutRunHe had built a coherent universe where each song seemed to accompany an imaginary film. His influence extended far beyond the French scene, inspiring many artists of synthwave and contemporary electronic music.

In 2024, he had once again captivated the world at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. Along withAngelandPhoenixhe had offered a masterful interpretation ofNightcall. In front of hundreds of millions of viewers, this performance gave a second life to a 14-year-old piece, to the point of breaking a world record of research on Shazam in one day.

At a time when electronic music is often dominated by the ephemeral, Kavinsky had succeeded in creating a timeless imagination. His work evoked as much John Carpenter’s original tapes as video games, American highways or Italian sports cars. He did not seek to follow the trends: he had created his own.

Today, it is a Teddy jacket silhouette that moves away one last time in the night. Yet, as the character he had invented, Kavinsky will probably continue to ride for a long time in collective memory. As long as the first notes ofNightcallorTestarossa Autodrivehis universe will remain alive, somewhere between cinema, music and dream.