OutRun (album)

OutRun is the debut studio album by French electronic musician Kavinsky. It was released on 22 February 2013 by Record Makers, Vertigo Records and Mercury Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by Kavinsky, along with close friend and fellow French electro house artist Sebastian. The album is named after Sega's 1986 arcade game of the same name, which featured the Ferrari Testarossa.[1][2]

OutRun
Studio album by Kavinsky
Released	22 February 2013
Recorded	2006–2012
Studio	Gang, Paris[lower-alpha 1] CBE, Paris[lower-alpha 2] Third Side, Paris[lower-alpha 3]
Genre	Electronic French house synthwave
Length	44:26
Label	Record Makers Vertigo Mercury
Producer	Kavinsky Sebastian Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Singles from OutRun
"ProtoVision" Released: 10 December 2012

The concept behind OutRun follows Kavinsky's backstory of a young man who crashed his Testarossa in 1986 and reappeared in 2006 as a zombie who produces electronic music.[2][3][4] Kavinsky cites influences from 1980s video games, television cop shows such as Miami Vice, and the films of Dario Argento.[5]

Singles

"ProtoVision" was released on 10 December 2012 as the album's official lead single.[6] The music video, directed by Marcus Herring, was released on 7 December 2012 on Vimeo and on 10 December 2012 on YouTube.[7][8]

Usage in media

A one-minute snippet of the song "Odd Look" was used in a 2012 French commercial for BMW i, which was shown in cinemas.[9][10] "Nightcall" plays during the opening credits of the 2011 film Drive.[1] "Roadgame" has been used by Mercedes-Benz in a 2012 French commercial and in 2015 for the Italian commercial of the CLA Shooting Brake. In a British 2021 TV commercial for Gusto pre-prepared food ingredient boxes, a short clip of "Rampage" was used as an example of 80's electronica.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Consequence of Sound	[12]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[13]
The Independent	[14]
Mixmag	4/5[15]
NME	8/10[16]
Pitchfork	6.3/10[3]
PopMatters	8/10[17]
Spin	8/10[18]

OutRun received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 12 reviews.[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Prelude"	Kavinsky Paul Hahn	Kavinsky	Kavinsky Sebastian	1:54
2.	"Blizzard"		Kavinsky Sebastian	Sebastian	3:27
3.	"ProtoVision"		Kavinsky Sebastian	Kavinsky Sebastian	3:26
4.	"Odd Look" (featuring SebastiAn)		Kavinsky Sebastian	Sebastian	4:49
5.	"Rampage"		Kavinsky Sebastian	Sebastian	2:55
6.	"Suburbia" (featuring Havoc)	Havoc	Kavinsky	Kavinsky Sebastian	3:28
7.	"Testarossa Autodrive"		Kavinsky	Kavinsky	3:37
8.	"Nightcall" (featuring Lovefoxxx)	Kavinsky Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo	Kavinsky Homem-Christo	Kavinsky Homem-Christo	4:18
9.	"Deadcruiser"		Kavinsky	Kavinsky	3:33
10.	"Grand Canyon"		Kavinsky Sebastian	Kavinsky Sebastian	3:12
11.	"First Blood" (featuring Tyson)	T. Tyson José Reis Fontão	Kavinsky Sebastian	Kavinsky Sebastian	3:04
12.	"Roadgame"		Kavinsky Sebastian	Kavinsky Sebastian	3:44
13.	"Endless"	Kavinsky Hahn	Kavinsky	Kavinsky	2:59

iTunes Store US bonus track[19]

No.	Title	Length
14.	"ProtoVision" (Red Sky Mix featuring Sugar Tongue Slim)	3:02

Personnel

Credits for adapted from the liner notes of OutRun.[20]

Musicians Kavinsky – vocals (tracks 4, 8, 12) Paul Hahn – voice (tracks 1, 13) Raw Man – guitars (tracks 2, 3, 11) Sebastian – vocals (track 4) Havoc – vocals (track 6) Lovefoxxx – vocals (track 8) Tyson – vocals (track 11) José Reis Fontão – backing vocals (track 11) Technical Kavinsky – production (tracks 1, 3, 6–12) Sebastian – production (tracks 1–6, 10–12); mixing (all tracks) A-Trak – recording (track 6) Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo – production (track 8) Florian Lagatta – engineering (track 8) David Mestre – recording (track 11)

Artwork The Directors Bureau Special Projects – album art concept, photography Marcus Herring – director Tari Segal – director of photography Benjamin Glovitz – production Duffy Culligan – executive production Charlotte Delarue – art direction Adrien Blanchat – image manipulation Graphame – layout

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2013) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 28 French Albums (SNEP)[23] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 38 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 159 UK Dance Albums (OCC)[26] 8 US Billboard 200[27] 156 US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[28] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 185 French Albums (SNEP)[30] 68

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[31]	Gold	50,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Germany	22 February 2013	Mercury	[32]
Ireland		Record Makers Vertigo Mercury	[33]
France	25 February 2013		[34]
United Kingdom			[35]
United States	26 February 2013	Casablanca Republic	[36]
Australia	1 March 2013	Universal	[37]
Italy	12 March 2013		[38]

Notes

1. Engineering on track 8
2. Track 11
3. Backing vocals on track 11

References

1. Battaglia, Andy (20 February 2013). "Kavinsky Opens Up About His Survivor Tattoo, Skrillex Movie Dates". Spin. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
2. Jeffries, David. "OutRun – Kavinsky". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
3. Raymer, Miles (27 February 2013). "Kavinsky: Outrun". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
4. Khan, Karim (23 January 2013). "The Interview: Kavinsky". Hunger TV. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
5. Abraham, Amelia (21 January 2013). "Kavinsky". Don't Panic Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
6. "Protovision – Single by Kavinsky". iTunes Store (France). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
7. "Kavinsky 'Protovision'". Vimeo. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
8. "Kavinsky – Protovision". YouTube. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
9. Brooks, Richard (18 November 2013). "Kavinsky – Odd Look (Preview) (2013 BMWi Commercial)". Hypetrak. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
10. BMW France (19 November 2012). "Découvrez la..." (in French). Facebook. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
11. "Outrun by Kavinsky Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
12. Gerber, Justin (13 March 2013). "Album Review: Kavinsky – OutRun". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
13. Adams, Sean (20 February 2013). "Kavinsky – Outrun". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
14. Price, Simon (24 February 2013). "Album: Kavinsky, Outrun (Mercury)". The Independent. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
15. Muggs, Joe (21 December 2012). "Kavinsky: OutRun". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
16. Perry, Kevin EG (21 February 2013). "Kavinsky – 'Outrun'". NME. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
17. Bonich, Adam (1 April 2013). "Kavinsky: Outrun". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
18. Marchese, David (26 February 2013). "Kavinsky, 'Outrun' (Casablanca)". Spin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
19. "Outrun by Kavinsky". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
20. OutRun (CD liner notes). Kavinsky. Record Makers. 2013. REC86.CS1 maint: others (link)
21. "Ultratop.be – Kavinsky – Outrun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
22. "Ultratop.be – Kavinsky – Outrun" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
23. "Lescharts.com – Kavinsky – Outrun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Kavinsky – Outrun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
25. "Chart Log UK – Weekly Updates Sales 2013". Zobbel. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
26. "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
27. "Kavinsky Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
28. "Kavinsky Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
29. "Rapports Annuels 2013 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
30. "Le Top de l'année : Top Albums Fusionnés – 2013" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
31. "French album certifications – Kavinsky – OutRun" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
32. "Kavinsky | OutRun" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
33. "Kavinsky – Outrun". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
34. "Outrun – Livre-disque – Kavinsky" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
35. "Kavinsky Outrun CD Album". Universal Music UK. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
36. "OutRun [Explicit]: Kavinsky". Amazon (US). Retrieved 11 December 2018.
37. "Kavinsky Store – OutRun". Getmusic (Australia). Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
38. "Kavinsky – Outrun" (in Italian). IBS.it. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2013.