A neighbour in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, worried after several days without seeing the reclusive musician, dialled emergency services shortly before 10.30pm on Tuesday. When first responders entered the apartment, they found Vincent Belorgey, better known as the DJ and producer Kavinsky, unresponsive. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that no suspicious elements were discovered at the scene, and an inquiry into the cause of death has been opened. Police sources cited by Le Figaro reported that Belorgey had complained of headaches in the days before his death, and that a stroke is being considered as a possible cause.

Belorgey, 50, born in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, began his career as an actor before turning to music in the mid-2000s after a friend, filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, gave him a computer. He created a fictional alter ego – a blue-skinned, red-eyed zombie who died in a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa crash and was resurrected in 2006 – and became a leading figure of the French Touch electronic scene. His breakthrough came in 2010 with the track ‘Nightcall’, co-written and co-produced with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk and featuring vocals by Brazilian singer Lovefoxxx. The song gained global fame when it opened the 2011 film ‘Drive’ starring Ryan Gosling, and has since accumulated more than 343 million views on YouTube.

‘Nightcall’ saw a second life at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Kavinsky performed a new version alongside Belgian singer Angèle and the French pop-rock band Phoenix. The performance, broadcast live to 17.1 million viewers on French television according to Médiamétrie, was the most Shazamed song in a single day in the app’s history. Angèle later posted an Instagram story expressing ‘immense sadness’, thanking Kavinsky for ‘that unforgettable moment on stage’. In a post on X, French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard wrote: ‘With the sudden passing of Kavinsky, France has lost one of its most unique voices. From the film Drive to the Paris Olympics, the whole world was moved by Nightcall.’ President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute, calling Kavinsky ‘a source of French pride forever’.

Kavinsky’s music reached audiences far beyond Europe. On New Year’s Eve 2025, he headlined a free concert on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma that the city government said attracted more than 250,000 people, making it the largest electronic music event ever recorded. He had been scheduled to return to Mexico in October 2026 for the Vaivén festival. Canadian singer The Weeknd, who collaborated with Kavinsky on a version of ‘Odd Look’, wrote on X: ‘An inspiration to so many, including myself. I will continue to honour your name and your music. Rest easy, Kavinsky.’

Late on Tuesday evening, after the neighbour’s call, the emergency crews arrived to find the artist alone in his apartment. The room, one imagines, held the tools of his trade – synthesizers, perhaps a computer – but no clues as to why he had gone. The investigation continues, and the French electronic scene, still riding the wave of the Olympic moment, now faces a silence where his distinctive, nostalgic sound once resonated.