KAVINSKY – OutRun (2013)

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0dayrox is specialized in melodic rockin’ music, but also strongly related to ’80s culture. I invite you to try something different here: KAVINSKY, and his full length debut album “OutRun”.
Let me introduce you Vincent Belorgey, publicly known as French electronic artist Kavinsky. Taking inspiration from film composer and producer Jan Hammer and his synth-fueled style that has carried iconic ’80s TV shows such as Miami Vice, Belorgey made a name to himself due to his distinctive electronica sounds and his Ferrari Testarossa-driving zombie character ‘Kavinsky’ for years, releasing several singles.

Kavinsky’s most famous song to date, “Nightcall,” carried the Ryan Gosling-powered motion picture ‘Drive’ (2011) by Nicolas Winding Refn, thus garnering global recognition.
“OutRun” signifies a perfect representation of Belorgey’s musical legacy so far, his affection for Ferrari Testarossa, zombies, and of course, Don Johnson / Miami Vice and alikes.
Accordingly, Belorgey’s music serves as the audio companion of Kavinsky’s dark, sad but romantic adventures that immediately captures the imagination of the listener.
Kavinsky (the character) crashed his Testarossa in 1986, and then reappeared as a zombie in 2006 in order to make electro music and show off his racing skills in animé-like videos. Apparently, Giorgio Moroder, Harold Faltermeyer (Top Gun soundtrack score), Sega video game soundtracks, and the original TRON soundtrack were all the cassettes available to the pre-zombie Kavinsky.

“OutRun” — named after Sega’s Golden Joystick Award-winning game which just happened to feature a Ferrari Testarossa (!) — is filled with the bleeps and tempos one might find in an ’80s B-grade action film where rude men and mullets still thrill the ladies, and guitar solos are thrown on top when a little extra scream is needed.
“OutRun” aims for a mid-eighties retro feel in just about every way imaginable. Even the artwork (also released on vinyl, of course) is fully filled the with imagery evocative of it – check the back cover; looks like the end titles of a cheap flick direct to VHS.

While other electronic artists going for an ’80s sound always come off like they’re doing a piss take, not taking their influences nor their own music seriously, Kavinsky obviously has a deep love and admiration for the music he’s drawing inspiration from.
There’s no wink, no goofy aside, no tongue-in-cheek feeling, it all comes off as legit. And that’s because Kavinsky isn’t trying to cop a specific artist or style. There aren’t any monotone vocals here, or radio-ready synth lines for example. No easy nostalgia targets.

Instead he’s going for a slow build, an overall retro feel that doesn’t draw from any one source. He’s grabbing it all. “Rampage” is a hodge-podge of 8-bit electronics, indeed a dark and sinister DX-7 synth rampage feast which reminds me “Manhunter (1986)” soundtrack by the excellent combo Shriekback.
This album is like a video game on a music CD / vinyl LP, just listen the sexy robot beats od “Nightcall” (which was featured prominently in the film Drive), the flashy victory theme “Protovision” and the assurance that no matter what cool bits of the present are employed, the fetishizing of that 16-bit swagger will remain solid and inspired. Mario Bros might find it tiresome and cheeseball, but bad dudes, street fighters, and dudes into linen suits will think of it as their dream soundtrack.
“Odd Look” pulls from Blondie to Faltermeyer automaton beats with an electronically distorted female vocals.
The thrashing “First Blood” sounds like Sammy Haggar by way of a Sega game with a radical guitar solo straight out of the ‘Danger Zone’ movie OST thrown in for good measure. It’s the greatest bits and hits of the ’80s, all genres, all styles, all mixed together.
Just take a look at Vincent Belorgey / Kavinsky photo below, sporting a Def Leppard T-shirt:

Naturally, if you’re the kind of person who would find that concept endearing, then you’re probably the kind of person who would want this album on vinyl. Thankfully, “OutRun” comes in a great package that really does its source material justice. The front cover, itself evoking the imagery of the game the album is titled after, is a stunning work of art. The inside gatefold image is even better.
That, along with other imagery and iconography on the album, give it the look of a soundtrack to a movie that never was. The typeface is the kind you’d find on a soundtrack release, and the inside sleeve is filled with images that look like stills taken from a film.
Musically, if synthesizers galore / eighties soundtrack movies is your thing, “OutRun” is a must.
I love the ’80s…

01 – Prelude
02 – Blizzard
03 – ProtoVision
04 – Odd Look
05 – Rampage
06 – Suburbia [Explicit]
07 – Testarossa Autodrive
08 – Nightcall
09 – Deadcruiser
10 – Grand Canyon
11 – First Blood
12 – Roadgame
13 – Endless

BUY IT !
www.juno.co.uk/products/outrun/482562-01
www.juno.co.uk/products/outrun-deluxe-edition/484257-01
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