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
I'm such a strong believer in making yourself happy. Almost in a selfish way. There are a lot of trends, and obviously you can get swept up into them. But I feel like if you just write songs you love, it can have trap beats in it or whatever's going on in the moment, but you don't stop loving songs.
I like to blur the line between remix and cover version and new song.
Every day there's a lot of things I block out, because if I start visualising things, I tend to go completely insane. I've always had anxiety issues, and it can totally overwhelm me and suck me under if I'm not keeping focused. I just think and think until I have a panic attack, and then it dies down.
I'm pretty strict with videos, at least the imagery stuff.
I know a lot of people feel like they get eaten alive by New York, but I feel it more as a father figure or something - this huge presence watching over me. I definitely feel better and work freer here.
Yeah, I associate every sound with a color and vice versa.
I was 13 years old at music school talking to my teacher. I can't quite remember what it was I was trying to describe, but I do remember my music teacher saying to me, 'Do you have synesthesia?' In hindsight, it seems a little presumptuous of her to think a little boy in Essex would know what synesthesia was.
'Chamalkay' is an old Guyanese slang word. It means a 'young mischievous girl.' It's not derogatory, but it isn't over complimentary, either. It was probably a word I just Googled one day, and the song kind of played into the feel of that.
The issue I had with the Lightspeed albums was that usually the main purpose with them was to fulfil really dorky musical goals, like, 'I wonder if I can do that,' and it was all very personal. It was more that once I'd finished the goal of what the song was, I was kind of done. It was like ticking boxes.
Sometimes that's the only way I exist, talking to people through pop culture.
I approach every single thing I do as a fan. It's the only way I can do things. That way, I never let myself down.
I avoid falling into a trap of doing work solely to impress people. I always ask myself, "What don't I ever see?"
Personally, I always just want people to enjoy themselves and experience something that they wouldn't normally experience.
I try to take it as it comes. I'm constantly trying to please myself. That's why I've basically realised now, that nothing else in the world matters at all, just please yourself and the people you love and that's it.