French producer and DJ Kavinsky, best known for "Nightcall" from the opening of Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film "Drive," has died at his Paris home aged 50, with further tributes and biographical detail emerging since his death was first reported. New details highlight that he most recently performed "Nightcall" alongside Phoenix and Angèle at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, broadcast globally and introducing the track to new audiences over a decade after the film's release. He was found dead on Tuesday evening; French authorities have opened an investigation but no foul play is suspected, with local media reporting he had complained of headaches beforehand.

Born Vincent Belorgey in Seine-Saint-Denis in 1975, Kavinsky came to music after working as an actor, including in films by his friend Quentin Dupieux, before creating his spectral "undead driver" persona inspired by 1980s action cinema, arcade games and sports cars. He emerged via the Record Makers label in the mid-2000s with EPs including "Teddy Boy" and "Nightcall," co-produced the latter with Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and featured vocals from CSS's Lovefoxxx, then released his debut album "OutRun" in 2013 and a follow-up, "Reborn," in 2022. Though never as commercially prominent as compatriots like Daft Punk or Justice, he was highly influential in popularising the synthwave genre internationally.