KAVINSKY PROTOVISION [VIDEO]

Kavinsky - otherwise known as the real world person Vincent Belorgey - is back with a new album due out early 2013: Outrun. This, 'Protovision', is the first official single from that album - 'Odd Look', a snippet of which we covered a few weeks ago, has actually not been released yet. But, all these technicalities and names aside, I'm just glad to hear that he's back. It seems that a lot of people are giving him a pretty hard time for "pulling a DRIVE" in the video below, but if you've followed Kavinsky for a while, you will see that Kavinsky is itself a creation by Vincent: both the music and the eponymous character form part of the atmosphere that goes with the whole package that is Kavinsky.

Whether or not you like or can even get on board with a conceptual idea like that is besides the point (no matter how cool or not cool you think it is): the point is the music. And as far as the music that comes from the mind of this guy goes, it remains an exciting, dynamic sound that doesn't pull any punches and that remains almost as it has been since the release of his first EP Teddy Boy in 2006.

So in 'Protovision' we are treated to an epically wailing guitar, which is the main star of the 3-minute-long thumper of a track. In typical Kavinsky style we hear a super strong beat that thuds along beneath a grim, fuzzy wave of synth bassline - a showcase of 80s-car-chase-inspired sounds that display and illustrate as much excitement as inspires them in the first place. The only change that has been made to the sound since previous tracks is perhaps a larger dash of wide and epic, cinematic atmosphere that has managed to have been captured within the glowering synth of 'Protovision', yet still it is the small touches that make the most differences sometimes.

Detractors might say that Kavinsky is always the same - if you don't like that sound, then lack of change is bound to annoy you. Personally, I think this sound is one that Vincent Belorgey should tenaciously cling onto and hold close because it's one that, like a loveable or memorable character, people will not tire of hearing.

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KAVINSKY ODD LOOK

Last time we heard anything from Kavinsky it was all in the general and understandably ecstatic furore that surrounded Drive last year, and in particular his most famous addition to the soundtrack: 'Nightcall'. Since then, there hasn't been anything much, but people have been hungry to hear more from this pretty enigmatic and exciting producer. The latest titbit we have from him, however, is from an advert made by JWT Paris for the new BMW i, and it's a track called 'Odd Look'.

Thankfully, it is typically Kavinsky and I love it. Even though the clip is only one minute long, you can get a very good idea of how the sound of this artist has progressed.

We hear the usual electro sounds, mega-modulated and distorted synths, a slow, steady beat, and an atmosphere that seems to be at once uniquely cinematic. But even though his new song, 'Odd Look', seems to retain the sound that so allured everybody the first time around, at the same time it seems as if the sound is becoming more distinguished, more layered, more ambiently mechanised with other synth tricks and added, vocal effects, that will hopefully add up to one very exciting release in 2013. Dubbed Outrun, I have no idea when it will be released, nor when exactly, but I know one thing: I'm excited.

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FI/SHE/S KAVINSKY NIGHTCALL COVER

We discovered this song a few days ago but we've been unfortunately diverted by other, more immediately affecting circumstances. C'est la vie! Anyway, we're proud to have come across this, seeing as the original was such a great song, and seeing as this cover by FI/SHE/S (winners of the Le Prix SFR Jeunes Talents Musique 2012) of Kavinsky's 'Nightcall' is not so bad either. Not bad at all.

Of course, it's always a little bit risky covering a song that made such a splash when it first appeared (and which is inextricably connected to Drive, one of the more memorable cinematic experiences of last year). The paradox is, however, that songs are often only covered because they are such loved songs in either huge pop circles, or by an equally massive cult following. A good cover is more often than not the product of covering a very, very well-known song, but the risk of it not being so good increases directly with how well-loved the original is.

In the case of FI/SHE/S cover of 'Nightcall', it's a bit of both - it has neither drastically affected my view of the original (à la Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower'), nor has it offensively and ineffectually flopped like a fish out of water (conscious pun). Listen/watch and see what I mean:

Essentially, this an indie-pop reworking of the original with a much more ambient, chilled-out feel. As such, it exudes a vibe that the original could not, i.e. that of a live band who play instruments and not a man who sits at a computer making music. That's the main difference. That, and the newly done dubstep beat - always more favourable on live drums. As such it sounds like basically a different song, the only thing that's the same is the lyrics, which are to be fair treated very well with some luscious vocal harmonies that seem to be second-nature to the band, having listened to a few of their other songs on their SoundCloud page (try 'Bien' and 'Quiet Is The Monster' to get a good idea of the spectrum of their sound).

You can actually get this song for free if you follow this link.

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KAVINSKY NIGHTCALL

I haven't yet seen Drive, but if some of the music blasting out of the essences of the by-mouth reviews and praise of that film is anything to go by, it's safe to say that it'd be a good idea to go and see it. And of the music, the sound that seems to be in the air at the moment permeating the brain of anybody/everybody who went to see the film is the distinctly brilliant 'Nightcall' by Kavinsky.

Real name Vincent Belorgey, Kavinsky is one of the children of the Parisian electro house family, having toured with the likes of Daft Punk, Justice and The Rapture, delivering high energy tunes based on that 2005-7 fuzzy electronic aesthetic. And that's not everyone. Aside from being mates with one of my favourite French artists, Mr. Oizo, he's also called upon the talents of fellow electro-honeymooner Lovefoxxx (of CSS) to lend her lovely vocal stylings to the creeping cat of a track that is 'Nightcall'.



And what a creeping cat this track is. If Kavinsky here is trying to evoke a kind of night feeling, of the dark air and rushing blank road orange streetlights, the quiet and cold if it all, then he has done it very very well. The slow house beat whisks you away like an urban dreamtime rowboat into a kind of 80s alternate reality where everything resounds with a kind of computerised nostalgia. The altered machine-like voice offset against Lovefoxxx's vocals is the perfect contrast. All I can say is that I love the tempo and I love the feel. It's the kind of thing that suits night much more than morning, like I said. Like a creeping night cat. And this song, by the way, comes from Kavinsky's 7-song 2010 EP, Nightcall.

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• Listen to more Kavinsky on his SoundCloud
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