On announcing his new album and his second as Blood Orange, Dev Hynes explained that “a lot of the record is about transitions, life transitions.” Any followers of Hynes will know that he is one artist who is no stranger to these kind of movements. In fact, from the start of his career in 2004 with dance-punk band Test Icicles, ‘transition’ is something that Hynes seems to have been constantly going through.
On leaving school nearly 10 years ago to join Test Icicles, Hynes embarked on a career as intriguing, diverse and sporadic as any other. From the age of just 18, he has shown these tendencies and it says a lot that nine years later, at only 27, we are reflecting on his five album career.
Never sticking to one defined genre, Test Icicles were harder to pin down than a hungry bear. Their only album, For Screening Purposes Only, was a creative success and an important record however they weren’t to last long and on their split Hynes dedicated his first years as a soloist to his Lightspeed Champion project in which Hynes’ didn’t hesitate to showcase his acoustic talents. They were duly critically lauded and his success was such that he released two successful albums.
At that point, many would have sat back and embraced their position, touring extensively and making a healthy wage from their newly carved position in the music industry. However, in the same fashion that saw him become Lightspeed Champion, Hynes instantaneously became Blood Orange in 2011 with the release of the charming LP Coastal Grooves.
This was, arguably, his least successful release as a soloist despite being an interesting and joyous electro journey but since then Hynes has gone on to successfully produce tracks like Solange’s ‘Losing You’ and Sky Ferreira’s ‘Everything is Embarrassing’.
Although his production talents have been showcased before with Florence and the Machine and The Chemical Brothers, it seem that finally, deservedly and undoubtedly, Hynes is receiving the attention he deserves. This brings us forward to today when we hear stories of Hynes working his creative magic on new material with Jessie Ware and rather surprisingly ex-Sugababes trio Mutya Keisha Siobhan. Hynes finds it hard to turn people down, he says, because he wants to “try everything in the world”.
Whilst acting as Solange’s musical director on her recent tour, Hynes has somehow found time to complete work on his second studio album as Blood Orange and the results do not disappoint. Just as he seems to have found and carved his true place in the music industry as one of the most exciting and sought after producers and song writers in the pop world, he also now seems to be making the music that he has always wanted to make. Hynes has finally transitioned into the artist he wants to be and frankly, the one he should be.
Jamie Taylor
Blood Orange – Cupid Deluxe (5/5)
In a world in which the music industry is a playground and Dev Hynes is a captain picking his team (or collaborators) for his second album as Blood Orange, he would be lucky to have assembled such a brilliant crop of ‘cool kids’ as he has in Cupid Deluxe. However, whether or not you have a childish adoration of Samantha Urbani (Friends), David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) or Clams Casino (among others) your attention would undoubtedly be duly devoted to the talent of Mr Hynes himself throughout this record.
Yes, in using his associates so fantastically, Hynes has intelligently and deliberately created some spectacular combinations, but it is his musical and lyrical prowess that really comes to the fore. He combines 80s beats with guitar riffs so funky you wouldn’t be surprised if Nile Rodgers had his finger in yet another pie and then places those intimate hand written messages on top, oh so delicately.
It is his powerful and meaningful lyricism that stands out and gives us a record that is far more consistently elegant and powerful than any of his previous work. In doing so, Hynes has created such a diverse, intimate and yet expansive record that it is impossible not to admire his ambition in reinventing himself.
He captures elements of a variety of genres, melting them together create a record that it is undeniable Hynes could be forgiven for pulling his t-shirt over his head and running around in circles screaming with joy over.
Jamie Taylor