I ran a fairly popular electronic music blog [1] in France between 2009 and 2014 and met him multiple times. I’m really sad he’s no longer with us. He was an icon of this bloghouse era with the Ed Banger crew. Rest in peace Vinco, you’ll be missed.<p>I can’t say I’m surprised though as most DJs during that era were known to abuse all kinds of substances and had to manage a non existent sleep schedule, long flights all around the world, and jet lag. It takes a toll on your body.<p>The entire industry is sharing stories about him today and The Toxic Avenger (Simon) shared a funny one about a set in Zurich <a href="https://x.com/toxavanger/status/2082434657300177372" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/toxavanger/status/2082434657300177372</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.stopthenoise.fr/" rel="nofollow">https://www.stopthenoise.fr/</a>
Mais non ! J'ai toujours été attristé par la fin de Stop The Noise. Aucune intention de rallumer le flambeau ? :)
Definitely linked to you many times (I ran a blog called ilictronix in high school). Small world! Great posts over the years.
Thank you! Small world indeed! I’m glad the blog resonated as much as it did. I shared mp3 with friends back then and firmly believed that more people in France and around the world would love the same music as much as we did. Kudos for still posting on yours after all the years. That’s an insane feat! I really wished I kept going but starting my career in Paris in 2014 killed the momentum. I worked on the blog from 6pm to midnight pretty much every day after school and couldn’t do the same once I started working. I’ll bring it back one day! In the meantime, I’ll definitely check ilictronix. Thanks for sharing with the world. Love the MySpace like personal website with flat Eric!
He's rightly credited as having participated in the popularization of the musical and visual "Synthwave" aesthetic:<p><a href="https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Synthwave" rel="nofollow">https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Synthwave</a>
There’s a while sub genre of synthwave named after his album OutRun. Which, by the way, is best experienced while driving on the highway at night.<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/</a>
I'm only just now realizing that Beach House [1] might also have picked up on that synth aesthetic because the lead singer's father is French and she was in Paris for school in the early 2000s before coming back to the states to go to Vassar (she went to school with some of my friends). It probably was percolating around Paris at that time.<p>But also 80s synths were just really cheap around then. I picked up a Juno 60 with a flight case for around $400, including shipping, in about 2002.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_House" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_House</a>
Interesting theory, but fwiw synths were quite popular among the Baltimore music scene throughout the 00s. Besides Beach House, there was Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Celebration, among others. Lake Trout was another example, although a few years earlier / different scene. Ditto with Cex.
According to the BBC article, he was complaining of headaches since the last few days and authorities believe that he might have had a stroke<p>[0] <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c204n74xyv3o" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c204n74xyv3o</a>
His Nightcall performance during the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony got me into Synthwave. Really sad to see him go :(
Between letting Kavinsky play at the closing ceremony [0] and Gojira play at the opening ceremony [1], I really can't applaud and thank Thomas Jolly enough for directing the 2024 Olympic ceremonies.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSayp2tArqA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSayp2tArqA</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Iv5kq93K4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Iv5kq93K4</a>
That Gojira opening has been the most EPIC ceremony I've seen anywhere.<p>I remember I got so excited that I started jumping on my couch and accidentally knocked over a stand with my collectibles and food. Five-second rule, so I still ate my nuggets afterward, hehe. My partner complained a lot, but... some of these things... only a few of us get. Gojira is definitely not for everybody. It's an acquired taste that only a select few of us get to enjoy.
Loved "Nightcall", shame to lose him. It was a was a happy surprise to see him get a feature at the 2024 closing ceremonies, RIP.
Nightcall was kind of the anthem of my life for my early 20s. Still captures a moment. RIP.
I'm a big fan of french electro and Kavinsky is no exception: I discovered him and his <i>Nightcall</i> hit through the soundtrack of the movie <i>Drive</i>.<p>IIRC he got into electronic music late in his life after a friend gave him a long-outdated Atari ST running Cubase (DAW).<p>RIP.
It really hit a specific vibe. RIP to a legend.
How is this hacker news? Hundreds of musicians died today.
Oh non :(<p>Sa musique est une source d’inspiration fantastique, c’est vraiment une triste nouvelle
I like this interview with him from 2008
<a href="https://foolsgoldrecs.com/2008/09/17/fools-gold-qa-vol2-kavinsky/" rel="nofollow">https://foolsgoldrecs.com/2008/09/17/fools-gold-qa-vol2-kavi...</a>
Encore un que je regrette de ne pas avoir vu. RIP Kavinsky.
<a href="https://youtu.be/MV_3Dpw-BRY" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/MV_3Dpw-BRY</a>
Didn't realize he was in his 50s.<p>Darn shame.
And here I thought today couldn't get any worse. :(
He was a whole aesthetic and genre. Love his music!<p>Rest in peace.
A true loss for synthwave music. His music was amazing and rich and exciting in a way that many artists fail to reach.
Terrible news. His retro-synth sound was amazing. Had tickets to see him live many years ago and he cancelled the tour.
is there any news or speculation on how ?
"The Paris prosecutor's office said that "an investigation to establish the causes of death" had been opened, noting that no suspect was found at the scene on Tuesday evening."<p>Its a strange announcement.
It's a mistranslation, the original quote is "Une enquête en recherche des causes de la mort est ouverte afin de déterminer l’origine du décès, aucun élément suspect n’ayant été découvert sur place par les services primo-intervenants. Les investigations sont en cours", which translates to "no suspicious element was found", not "no suspect was found"
Purely speculative but he's been known for his excessive drinking for a while now, sad news.