Dev Hynes
Dev Hynes
Devonté "Dev" Hynes, also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is a British singer, songwriter, composer, producer and author. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released only one full-length album in 2005. Hynes went on to release two solo studio albums as Lightspeed Champion and subsequently three more as Blood Orange, between 2008 and 2016...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth23 December 1985
CityHouston, TX
apply asked characters compose fits gently house match mind paint scheme score work
When I was asked to compose a score for... 'Palo Alto,' I first thought to myself, 'What is the house that these characters would want to live in?' I wanted to paint a picture and color scheme that I could work around. I gently apply different daubs to see what fits to match the color I have in mind with these characters.
artist artists asking listening people sure vocal
Some people say I do it too much, but I'm always asking the artist questions. Sometimes - especially with new artists - you can see they're compromising in their mind. You see that look when they're listening to a vocal take and there's hesitation. And I'll be like, 'Are you sure you don't want to do this again?'
course disregard funny general genuinely liked lots means people released
It's funny because I think, as a general rule, that people seem to think that if you do lots of different things over the course of, like, a timeline, it means that you kind of disregard what you did before. But that's not true of me. I still genuinely like everything I did as much as I liked it when I released it.
across associate bouncing constant learned love senses sight sound works
The way it works for me is my sight and sound senses are combined. Every sound I associate with a color and every color I associate with a sound... The way I see things is constant streamers across the room, bouncing off from every touch and every sound. Over the years, I've learned what color palates I love most.
mind people
I don't want to say I hate remixes, because I don't, but I hate what instantly comes to mind now when people say 'remixes.'
aspect hunger single study weird
If I like something, I then have to study every single aspect of it to find out if there's more things that I would like, and it's just this weird hunger to want more. I always feel like there's so much that exists.
execute net
Everything I do, I build a kind of confidence net - 'I'm able to execute this; it's fine.'
artists clear dismiss exists guilty liked listen listened music people previous weary work
I'm always weary of connotations. I don't want people to listen to the music I make presently because they liked my previous work, or to dismiss it because they didn't. I'm guilty of this as well - having preconceptions about other artists - but it's stupid because all music exists on its own and should be listened to with a clear head.
cello
Cello is my first instrument, then piano, drums, bass, violin, recorder, saxophone, but I'd never play them live!
audio care connecting exists good lyric obviously people record respect saw ways
I don't really care about audio quality. If people saw some of the ways that I record stuff, they'd see I don't care in that respect. I obviously care about things sounding good, but I think quality exists through other things like emotionally connecting with a lyric or a feeling, or whatever.
music parts people recording result trying
When I was recording music, I'd record all the parts myself, and I wouldn't let other people in; that's essentially what Blood Orange is the result of; me trying to find the most comfortable I can be with everything.
banking basically change created days few fully love putting screen sounds spent
I'm pretty much fully digital. I've basically spent a few painstaking days putting sounds into my laptop, just banking them, because I love playing, and I love visually seeing it on my screen and being able to change the sounds more, with different plug-ins. I've created my own synth sounds.
beaten bus couple ended
A lot of my friends were gay, so I was spat on on the bus daily, and I ended up in hospital a couple of times from being beaten up so badly.
amazing chord composer crazy kids listening melody opening played rendition section sequence track weird
I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The opening track is a choral section where all the weird fairies, who are played by kids in the production, sing. It's a crazy opening melody and chord sequence - really amazing.