About

Nine years after Outrun, in the late Philippe Zdar's Motorbass studio in Paris, Kavinsky has worked on his own rebirth. Reborn will therefore be the story and the title of his second LP.

As he puts it himself: “After the sudden success of "Nightcall", I didn't really want to record again. I took two steps back and started to imagine what I was going to record after that, at my own pace. The break allowed people to forget about me for a little bit so that when I felt ready to return, I could perhaps try new things”.

While Outrun was an album of its time, fast and furious, produced in full throttle/full compression mode, on Reborn, Kavinsky wanted to record something more timeless and more musical by taking the time to experiment with gear, instruments and his collaborators.

While still infused with his trademark theatrical synth pop landscapes and just as visually evocative as "Outrun", "Reborn" is sonically larger. Its melodies get enough space to breathe their life into you, its 808s and Jupiters proudly make their way into the sonic spectrum and the featured performers get to irradiate their very best.

What you get on Reborn is a daring journey through Kavinsky's obsessions, some joyful, others darker, all of them enlightening. You will recognize hints of 80's Japanese anime music, a dramatically French classic soundtracks approach to string arrangements, heavy electro club funk machinery, saxophone licks as well as reflections on love, death, and the future of romance. It is a clear-cut and carefully crafted tribute to the history of pop culture put together by a very special artist with a unique ability to cite masterpieces from many fields, time and space while painting a precise and personal vision of the future.

Open the windows, let the air in and enjoy the ride. The K is back into your life. — (via Label)

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Kavinsky (or Vincent Belorgey to his friends) has been gone for nine years but Reborn is his aptly titled return to glory. Getting his start with a computer given to him by Mr Oizo, supporting Daft Punk on their Alive tour and collaborating with Justice’s Gaspard Augé on Reborn, Kavinsky has firmly etched his name in the French electronic scene.

Tracks such as ‘Pulsar’ and ‘Trigger’ both could have been plucked from a soundtrack to a futuristic 80’s movie. While ‘Pulsar’ takes a slow burn approach with swelling synths over simplistic electric drums, ‘Trigger’ takes a slightly more aggressive approach with the kick drum popping and the synth stabbing in and out.

While these shine, tracks such as ‘Reborn’, ‘Cameo’ and ‘Plasma’ take the album up another level with the vocal features adding another layer to each track with each, it’s own individual synth pop gem. Another name in French music, Sebastian Telliér, pops up for the almost Phil Collins-like ballad ‘Goodbye’ lending his breathy vocals to the simplistic track of synth swells and drum clicks that could be found in any given classic 80’s ballad.

‘Renegade’ airs more on the funk side and shows another string to Kavinsky’s bow. Vocalist Cautious Clay, powerful voice seems to understand the assignment and lifts ‘Renegade’ up to be a true head turner as his vocals fly over the pulsing, strutting electronica underneath.

The heart of Reborn is rooted in the 80’s and it seems to be an age of music that Kavinsky knows inside and out with each synth, drum beat and sound feeling like the real deal rather than a throwback replica. Reborn is a strong return to glory and an album that perfectly encapsulates why the French are the foreword in electronica. — (via Clunk Magazine)

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Released in 2022, Reborn is the second studio release from Kavinsky; an electronic musician with a knack for crafting mesmerising sonic experiences. If you haven’t heard of Kavinsky, you wouldn’t be alone for it’s been a considerable break between albums with his first studio release, OutRun, hitting the music scene in 2013. Yes, it may be suggested that his first studio release was Nightcall, from 2012, but at 35 minutes in length, it walks the thin line between being an album or an EP with Kavinsky choosing the latter. Nevertheless, Reborn is true to its namesake for Kavinsky’s music has never sounded better. 

Naturally, music isn’t just about the composition of notes that creates pleasant soundscapes for the artwork for Reborn is extraordinarily good. If there is one album that deserves to be presented on the larger vinyl canvas, this is that album. 

Similarly, if the quality of the recording, mix, and mastering weren’t up to scratch, then Reborn wouldn’t be as compelling as it is. The lossless Apple Music stream, an Apple Digital Master, is stunning. You’ll be enveloped in the soundstage from the very first moment of the album to the last. While I suggest that this is one album everyone should own on vinyl, for the artwork alone, when a digital stream is this good, one needs to question if such attainment is necessary. — (via Subjective Sounds)

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Label: Record Makers / Protovision
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album
Released: 2022
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synthwave, Synth-pop

File under: Electronic // Synthesiser
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