Fans have been remembering Kavinsky‘s hit song ‘Nightcall’ in the Ryan Gosling movie Drive, following the French DJ and electronic music star’s death.
- READ MORE: Drive at 10: the story behind its moody, synth-laden soundtrack
The musician, real name Vincent Belorgey, was found in his home in Paris by authorities at around 10:30pm local time on Tuesday night (July 28).
According to French news outlet Le Figaro, the discovery was made after a concerned neighbour reached out to emergency services and said that he had not seen the artist around the building for a few days.
The newspaper reported that the cause of death was believed to be due to a stroke, and that in the days ahead of his passing, the artist told those close to him that he was struggling with severe headaches. He was aged 50.
Following his death many fans have been remembering the opening to Nicolas Winding Refn’s neo-noir classic Drive, which features Kavinsky’s famous hit song.
‘Nightcall’ was & still is the most iconic synthwave song bar none, with no better showcase of it than the intro to ‘Drive’. Often you can forget the impact of such special songs once they become so ubiquitous with respect to their genres, but this one never fades.
RIP Kavinsky pic.twitter.com/q3ZsmQE90q
— Will (@WillemDaFro) July 29, 2026
Posting the opening sequence from the 2011 film online, one fan wrote: “Nightcall’ was & still is the most iconic synthwave song bar none, with no better showcase of it than the intro to Drive. Often you can forget the impact of such special songs once they become so ubiquitous with respect to their genres, but this one never fades.”
Another, who shared Kavinsky’s performance of the song from the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024, added: “Kavinsky’s music defined the aesthetic attitude of Drive, one of those rare films that’s arguably better than the book it’s based on. That’s in no small part due to this song.”
“His music became immortal the moment ‘Nightcall’ opened Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011), creating one of the most unforgettable opening sequences in modern cinema,” one fan also said while another added: “Tonight’s drive goes out to kavinsky.”
Kavinsky’s music defined the aesthetic attitude of Drive, one of those rare films that’s arguably better than the book it’s based on. That’s in no small part due to this song https://t.co/9NRvgi5NHb
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) July 29, 2026
Kavinsky has passed away at the age of 50
Best known for his song ‘Nightcall’ in ‘Drive’ pic.twitter.com/rJRirUfNYX
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) July 29, 2026
Kavinsky, the French producer behind the iconic synthwave anthem Nightcall, has passed away at the age of 50. 💔
His music became immortal the moment Nightcall opened Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011), creating one of the most unforgettable opening sequences in modern cinema.…
— Films to Films (@filmstofilms_) July 29, 2026
tonight’s drive goes out to kavinsky 🫡 pic.twitter.com/XDVYAgg88H
— project harv mary (@B1SCLAVRET) July 30, 2026
“Nightcall” from the movie #Drive, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling.
RIP #Kavinsky pic.twitter.com/eJLfEn15sm
— Micah 〽️🎙 (@Micah_Not_Micha) July 29, 2026
RIP kavinsky 🥀
drive (2011) dir. nicolas winding refn pic.twitter.com/X10K2RhANg
— denizer (@d6nizer) July 29, 2026
Along with ‘Nightcall’, the soundtrack to Drive, which saw Gosling play a stuntman working in Hollywood who moonlights as a getaway driver for LA’s criminal underworld, was hailed for its 80s-inspired synth melodies and Europop bangers.
The Drive soundtrack went to number one in the US and the UK thanks to his mega-hit.
Speaking about the song’s success to NME, in 2022, Kavinsky said: “After the sudden success of ‘Nightcall’, I didn’t really want to record again at that moment. I sensed some pressure; I was scared. I was scared to imagine what my music was going to be after this success. I took two steps back and started to imagine what I was going to record after that, at my own pace. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next.”
Two years ago he shared a new version of ‘Nightcall’ featuring Phoenix and Angèle after performing the hit with them at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in France.
Following the Olympics outing, the track broke the record for most Shazamed song in a single day ever.
CSS singer Lovefoxxx sang on the original version of ‘Nightcall’, and the track then went on to gain more notoriety after its release when it was covered by London Grammar in 2013. The Weeknd also sampled it before joining forces with the DJ for the song ‘Odd Luck’, and Avenged Sevenfold used the song to kick off their 2024 live shows.
Kavinsky once told NME that another collaboration with The Weeknd was likely to arrive “soon”.
