Phoenix, Kavinsky, & Angèle Release New Version Of “Nightcall” After Viral Olympics Performance

Last month, Phoenix were the main performers at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris. Phoenix played a bunch of songs and brought out a bunch of guests, including Air and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. But the real big moment from Phoenix’s performance turned out to be their version of French dance producer Kavinsky’s iconic 2010 track “Nightcall,” performed with Kavinsky and Belgian pop singer Angèle. That performance went viral, and now the parties involved have all released a new version of “Nightcall” together.

Kavinsky co-wrote “Nightcall” with Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, and the song imprinted itself on a generation when Nicolas Winding Refn used it in the opening sequence of his 2011 film Drive. When Phoenix and friends performed “Nightcall” together at the Olympic closing ceremony, the track broke Shazam records, and streams surged. Now, Phoenix have co-produced a new version of “Nightcall” that’s only slightly different from the original.

On the new “Nightcall,” we get Phoenix’s Thomas Mars singing the robotic male parts of the track, instead of Kavinsky. Angèle takes the place of CSS singer Lovefoxxx, who sang on the original track. The instrumental sounds very similar, and the whole thing feels a bit like Taylor Swift re-recording all her old records. Still, “Nightcall” is a great track, and there’s no bad reason to revisit it. Hear the new version below.