French electronic artist Kavinsky, composer of "Nightcall" from "Drive," dies at 50

Kavinsky, the French electronic musician and DJ whose single "Nightcall" scored the film "Drive," has died at 50, the Los Angeles Times reported. French newspaper Le Figaro and TV station BFM reported that Kavinsky, born Vincent Belorgey, died of a suspected stroke; Paris prosecutors investigated and found "no suspicious elements."

Kavinsky was a defining figure in the Paris electronic scene of the 2000s and 2010s, part of the second wave of the "French touch" dance movement, performing under a droll persona: a red-eyed producer who supposedly returned from the dead after a Ferrari crash. His neon-streaked synths and noirish atmosphere became a signature sound associated equally with L.A. freeways and Montmartre nightclubs.

His breakthrough came with "Nightcall," made in collaboration with CSS singer Lovefoxxx and Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. The song became the propulsive theme of Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film "Drive," and Kavinsky went on to perform it closing out the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside French band Phoenix and Belgian singer Angèle.

Kavinsky released only two studio albums, the 2013 singles collection "OutRun" and 2022's "Reborn," but influenced a generation of artists who followed him, including the Weeknd, who sang on an edit of Kavinsky's "Odd Look." "So heartbreaking to hear the news," the Weeknd wrote on X. "An inspiration to so many, including myself. Rest easy Kavinsky."

French President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute on Instagram, calling Kavinsky an artist France could be proud of forever, a rare head-of-state acknowledgment for a producer whose work rarely crossed into mainstream French pop.