Dev Hynes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dev Hynes
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Hynes performing as Blood Orange at Way Out West in Gothenburg, Sweden, August 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Joseph Michael Hynes |
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| Born | 23 December 1985 Essex, England |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
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Devonté Hynes, born David Joseph Michael Hynes on December 23, 1985, is a talented musician from England. He is also known by his stage names Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion. Dev Hynes is a singer, songwriter, record producer, and director. He lives in New York City.
From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was part of a band called Test Icicles. He played guitar and synthesizers for them. They released one album in 2005. After that, he started making music on his own. He released two albums as Lightspeed Champion. Then, he released five more albums as Blood Orange. Dev Hynes has worked with many famous artists. These include Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Mariah Carey. He has also worked with Solange Knowles and Carly Rae Jepsen.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Dev Hynes grew up in Ilford, East London, England. His mother is from Guyana, and his father is from Sierra Leone. He went to Chadwell Heath Foundation School. In 2004, he joined the dance-punk band Test Icicles. He played guitar and synthesizers for the group. They released their album, For Screening Purposes Only, in 2005. The band broke up in 2006. In 2007, Hynes moved to New York, where he lives now.
Solo Music Projects
Lightspeed Champion: Early Albums
In 2007, Dev Hynes started a solo project called Lightspeed Champion. He recorded his first album in Omaha, Nebraska. Many musicians from Omaha helped him with the record. These included Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott. The album was called Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. It came out on January 21, 2008. The name 'Lightspeed Champion' came from comic strips. Hynes drew these comics in his school math books.
When touring for Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, Hynes played with friends. These included Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine. Mike Siddell played violin with the band. Anna Prior played drums for most of the tour. Other famous musicians sometimes joined them. These included Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.
The band sometimes dressed up as Star Wars characters. They even played the Star Wars theme song at the Wireless Festival in 2008. Hynes toured the US in March 2008. He also performed at SXSW. He played at Glastonbury Festival and Pukkelpop in 2008.
After two years of touring, Hynes had throat problems. He needed surgery and took a break from touring. He still played some shows in New York. In 2009, he performed the music for the film Harold and Maude. He also sang songs by the composer Moondog. In 2010, he toured Europe again.
Hynes also released unofficial music online. These included an album made in one day. He also released an EP of Green Day cover songs. His second Lightspeed Champion album, Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, came out in 2010. After this, he stopped the Lightspeed Champion project. He wanted to focus on his new project, Blood Orange.
Blood Orange: A New Sound
Dev Hynes started a new project called Blood Orange. This music was more focused on R&B and electronic sounds. He performed live in New York and London in late 2009. He used a guitar and a laptop for these shows. His first single as Blood Orange, "Dinner", came out in January 2011.
His first full album as Blood Orange was Coastal Grooves. It was released in August 2011. One of his songs, "Sutphin Boulevard", was on the MTV show Skins. In April 2012, Hynes toured as Blood Orange. He opened for Florence and the Machine.
In November 2013, Hynes released his second Blood Orange album, Cupid Deluxe. Many guest artists appeared on this album. These included Caroline Polachek and Skepta. The album was promoted with three singles. Hynes also wrote the music for the 2013 film Palo Alto. The film was directed by Gia Coppola.
In 2014, Blood Orange was announced for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In 2015, Hynes released an EP with Connan Mockasin. It was called Myths 001.
On April 18, 2016, Hynes announced his third Blood Orange album. It was titled Freetown Sound. It came out on June 28, 2016. This album was nominated for the Album of the Year Award 2016.
On July 19, 2018, he announced his fourth album, Negro Swan. He released two singles from it: "Charcoal Baby" and "Jewelry". The album was released on August 24, 2018.
On June 25, 2019, Hynes announced his fifth release as Blood Orange. This was a mixtape called Angel's Pulse. It was released on July 12, 2019.
In 2022, Hynes performed with Liam Benzvi on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He also performed with Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden. In September 2022, Hynes signed with RCA Records.
Working with Other Artists
Dev Hynes has written and produced songs for many other artists. He has contributed to songs by the Chemical Brothers. He also worked with Basement Jaxx.
Hynes co-wrote and produced songs for Diana Vickers. He also produced and wrote songs for Theophilus London. He even appeared on London's 2011 EP, Lovers Holiday.
Hynes helped create music for the 2010 film MacGruber. This included a duet with Kristen Wiig. In 2011, he produced the debut album for Bleeding Knees Club. He also co-wrote and co-produced Solange Knowles' 2012 EP True.
Hynes co-wrote the song "Everything Is Embarrassing" for Sky Ferreira. He worked with Britney Spears on her album Britney Jean. He also co-wrote and produced "Crystallize" for Kylie Minogue. This was a charity song.
He co-wrote "All That" with Carly Rae Jepsen. This song was on her album E•MO•TION. He also co-wrote "Body Language" for her EP Emotion: Side B.
Hynes co-wrote two songs on Spector's album Moth Boys. He was also one of the producers for the album. Hynes produced and was featured on "Hun43rd" by A$AP Rocky. He was also featured on "Self Care" by Mac Miller.
Hynes and Ian Isiah created a version of "Grateful" by Hezekiah Walker. They performed it for a fashion show by Telfar Clemens. Hynes co-wrote Blondie's song "Long Time" with Deborah Harry. This song was on Blondie's album Pollinator.
In 2021, he was featured on "Alien Love Call" by Turnstile. In 2024, he worked with Nathy Peluso on her song "El Día Que Me Perdí Mi Juventud". Also in 2024, Hynes composed music for the Broadway play Job.
Classical Music and Film Scores
Dev Hynes has worked with the famous composer Philip Glass. He has performed Glass's piano music at Carnegie Hall. He has also performed at the Kennedy Center.
Hynes has written music for art projects and films. He worked with Alex Da Corte and Josh Kline. He also wrote the music for the film Palo Alto.
Special performances of his music have taken place. "Eastern Sports" was performed at ICA Philadelphia in 2015. It was also performed at the Whitney Museum of Art in 2017. The music from "Palo Alto" was performed live twice in 2016. In 2019, Hynes composed the music for the film Queen & Slim.
Discography
As Blood Orange
- Studio albums
- Coastal Grooves (2011)
- Cupid Deluxe (2013)
- Freetown Sound (2016)
- Negro Swan (2018)
- Mixtapes & EP's
- Angel's Pulse (2019)
- Four Songs (2022)
As Lightspeed Champion
- Falling Off the Lavender Bridge (2008)
- Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You (2010)
As Devonté Hynes
- Mixtapes & EPs
- Myths 001 (2015) (with Connan Mockasin)
- Soundtracks
- Palo Alto (2013)
- Fields (2019) (with Third Coast Percussion)
- Queen & Slim (2019)
- We Are Who We Are (2020)
- Mainstream (2020)
- Passing (2021)
- Master Gardener (2022)
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