Para fans de Electrónica.
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With a flair for creating emotive and electrifying beats which transport audiences to another time and place Balorgey using the character of Kavinsky and his backstory to convey his unique sound. This bizarre story involves Kavinsky having crashed his Testarossa in 1986 and re-emerging in zombie form in 2006 to produce his distinctive synth-pop filmesque electronic music.
Before embarking on his music career, Balorgey worked for many years as an actor and in 2005 his interest in electronic music flourished when his good friend Quentin Dupieux aka Mr Ozio handed down his old Mac to Balorgey fully loaded with electronic samples. It wasn’t long before he began work on his first single “Testarossa Overdrive” and with the help of Dupieux signed with Record Makers.
In 2006 under the pseudonym Kavinsky, he released his debut EP “Teddy Boy” subsequently followed by “1986” (2007) and “Blazer” (2008). As he began making a name for himself in the electronic world, Kavinsky went on to tour alongside the legendary French electro duo Daft Punk as well as Justice, SebastiAn and The Rapture while taking his hand to remixing The Klaxons and Sebastien Tellier.
Releasing his fourth EP “Nightcall” in 2010, the title track featuring Brazilian singer Lovefoxx catapulted Kavinsky in the spotlight with its inclusion in the “Drive” soundtrack and peaking at number ten in the French music charts. With a huge buzz surrounding him, Kavinsky went on to release his debut full length album “OutRun” in 2013 which debuted at number two in the charts. The album featured the singles “Roadgame”, “Protovision” and collaborations with SebastiAn and The Weeknd on the track “Odd Look”.
Kavinsky continues to keep audiences on the edge of their seats with his fusion of 80’s inspired synth-pop with the quintessential nuances of modern French electronic music.
Compared to the likes of electronic royalty, Justice and Daft Punk, French synth-pop, house and 80s electronic artist, Kavinsky is certainly not one to miss. Much like the majority of Kavinsky’s newfound fandom, I discovered him through the soundtrack to Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2001 film starring Ryan Gosling, ‘Drive.’ “Nightcall” featuring Lovefoxxx is a howling, haunting electronic track with steady snare beats and beautiful synth melodies accompanying simplistic male and female call and return style refrains; the perfect accompaniment to Winding Refn’s mysteriously slow moving action/romance storyline. Kavinsky’s debut studio album, ‘Outrun’ (2013) follows up “Nightcall” nicely, driven by steady beats and infectious electronic melodies that are sure to get you grooving, the overall sound calls up memories of 80s video games. The album is apparently inspired by its own video game inspired fictional storyline. The narrative goes along the lines of: mid 80s lovesick man has freak car accident; man turns into a robot-car; said man/robot/car makes electronic music that reflects his journey – not exactly a clear plotline but something that definitely brings to light some thematic elements and theatrical sci-fi tones to tracks such as, “Blizzard” and “Deadcruiser.”
These theatrics translate well into Kavinsky’s live performances. Standing on a raised platform with pulsating lights beaming out from behind him, casting a typical sci-fi silhouette and sporting red light emitting glasses, Kavinksy definitely does a good job at emulating the character from his album’s story. But if it’s audience interaction and communication from the artist that you want out of a live show, don’t be disappointed when Kavinsky doesn’t deliver; what he lacks in connecting with his audience personally, he more than makes up for with the quality of his sound and precision in mixing tracks.