BY SAMANTHA MULLETT
Photo Courtesy of The Windish Agency
We’ve found our favorite citrus of summer with Devonté Hynes of Blood Orange. The musical chameleon went from punk-band Test Icicles to proudly nerdy ‘Lightspeed Champion’ before this more fruitful pseudo. Reflecting the tang he squeezes out of his musical ambitions, Blood Orange was born to separate the old from the new, and avoid preconceived musical notions from past gigs.
Born in Austin, growing up in Essex, and spending recent time in NYC, this guy’s got it going on. He’s been all over the map, from sound engineering to comic-copywriting. His discography is equally impressive, stemming from the production of Florence and the Machine’s Lungs to the Chemical Brothers’ Grammy-winning album We Are The Night. To top it off, Dev’s a fashion consultant for Jay-Z’s clothing line, and didn’t go far out of the family to work with Solange, writing and producing her latest record.
Hynes’ renaissance project, Coastal Grooves, was released in 2011, mixing neo-soul with a splash of funk. We recommend “Sutphin Boulevard,” which packs enough percussional variation to entice a serious sidewalk strut.
What’s next for the main man? In correspondence with Interview Magazine, Dev was asked if Blood Orange would soon be dropped for another fresh project – “I’m not leaving it behind, but I don’t have a plan. The next performance I will do will actually be piano-based or cello-based. It’ll just be a performance rather than a recording.”* Snatch up his vocal chords while you can – he’ll be appearing at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris next.
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