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Blood Orange
Blood Orange
Devonté Hynes (better known as Blood Orange) is a groundbreaking producer and songwriter. Certain things come to mind when I think of his music: beautifully conceived and composed music, so beautiful you can't help but hear the craft and care that has made Devonté Hynes' music so important. Dev creates music with important themes of identity, both sexual and racial. And to get his view, to hear what he has to say (or sing), what he sees through the eyes of a black East Londoner (now living in New York) is so evident and alive in his music. Dev Hynes is a composer who fits as comfortably in the worlds of R&B, gospel and electronics as he does in the classical world of someone like Philip Glass. One important song, "By Ourselves," features all of Dev's signature sounds. Dev can move between instruments like Taylor Swift can move through boyfriends. Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, programming, you name it- he probably plays it. His thoughts are deep, his message of finding one's place in this world more deep-seated, with a clarity few artists ever achieve. Here's a quick biography of Blood Orange: Dev Hynes has first came to prominence through his tenure in the dance punk outfit Test Icicles and the days when he was making indie rock records as Lightspeed Champion. His slinky R&B project Blood Orange entered the world in 2009; while its debut album, Coastal Grooves, arrived in 2011, his breakthrough success was its follow-up, 2013’s Cupid Deluxe. Around this same period, Hynes cemented his status as a crucial songwriting collaborator for stars like Solange and Carly Rae Jepsen. Debbie Harry, Empress Of, and Nelly Furtado were among the collaborations that helped define his excellent 2016 album, Freetown Sound. 2018 saw the release of Negro Swan and his "mix-tape" project Angel's Pulse came out last year (2019). Blood Orange is one model of what a pop auteur should aspire to be in 2020: sonically omnivorous, constantly evolving, driven by righteous anger against systemic injustice while empowering marginalized people. But his best-known songs are about the way people hurt each other in the most intimate spaces. “Best of You” leaps from its hazy, funkadelic surroundings, a poison-penned duet wherein Hynes’ female counterpart plays against type. Dev and his Blood Orange project is the perfect combination of chillwave-meets-Afro-pop . Dev Hynes is especially good with evocative noises, and that synth seems to arrive straight from New York’s Danceteria circa-1982, still draped in scarves and trailing glitter. I got on board with his secon album but Dev is stll flourishing. He hasn't "jumped-the-shark" yet. In “E.V.P.” Hynes is alone, soaring unaccompanied in the sky. I'm glad to be along for the ride. I hope I'm not the last to join... as long as I didn't break the door-hinge... it's...
Blood Orange
Blood Orange
Devonté Hynes (better known as Blood Orange) is a groundbreaking producer and songwriter. Certain things come to mind when I think of his music: beautifully conceived and composed music, so beautiful you can't help but hear the craft and care that has made Devonté Hynes' music so important. Dev creates music with important themes of identity, both sexual and racial. And to get his view, to hear what he has to say (or sing), what he sees through the eyes of a black East Londoner (now living in New York) is so evident and alive in his music. Dev Hynes is a composer who fits as comfortably in the worlds of R&B, gospel and electronics as he does in the classical world of someone like Philip Glass. One important song, "By Ourselves," features all of Dev's signature sounds. Dev can move between instruments like Taylor Swift can move through boyfriends. Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, programming, you name it- he probably plays it. His thoughts are deep, his message of finding one's place in this world more deep-seated, with a clarity few artists ever achieve. Here's a quick biography of Blood Orange: Dev Hynes has first came to prominence through his tenure in the dance punk outfit Test Icicles and the days when he was making indie rock records as Lightspeed Champion. His slinky R&B project Blood Orange entered the world in 2009; while its debut album, Coastal Grooves, arrived in 2011, his breakthrough success was its follow-up, 2013’s Cupid Deluxe. Around this same period, Hynes cemented his status as a crucial songwriting collaborator for stars like Solange and Carly Rae Jepsen. Debbie Harry, Empress Of, and Nelly Furtado were among the collaborations that helped define his excellent 2016 album, Freetown Sound. 2018 saw the release of Negro Swan and his "mix-tape" project Angel's Pulse came out last year (2019). Blood Orange is one model of what a pop auteur should aspire to be in 2020: sonically omnivorous, constantly evolving, driven by righteous anger against systemic injustice while empowering marginalized people. But his best-known songs are about the way people hurt each other in the most intimate spaces. “Best of You” leaps from its hazy, funkadelic surroundings, a poison-penned duet wherein Hynes’ female counterpart plays against type. Dev and his Blood Orange project is the perfect combination of chillwave-meets-Afro-pop . Dev Hynes is especially good with evocative noises, and that synth seems to arrive straight from New York’s Danceteria circa-1982, still draped in scarves and trailing glitter. I got on board with his secon album but Dev is stll flourishing. He hasn't "jumped-the-shark" yet. In “E.V.P.” Hynes is alone, soaring unaccompanied in the sky. I'm glad to be along for the ride. I hope I'm not the last to join... as long as I didn't break the door-hinge... it's...
Blood Orange
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