Devonte Hynes

Dev Hynes
Dev Hynes performing as Blood Orange at Way Out West in Gothenburg, Sweden, August 2014
Background information
Also known as	Blood Orange Lightspeed Champion
Born	(1985-12-23) 23 December 1985 (age 31) London, England
Origin	New York, NY, United States
Genres	Indie rock, baroque pop, folk, contemporary R&B, jazz, new wave, soul, electronic, quiet storm
Instruments	Vocals, cello, guitar, piano, drums, violin, bass
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Domino, Terrible
Associated acts	Kindness Grizzly Bear FKA twigs Solange Knowles Sky Ferreira Tinashe Test Icicles Carly Rae Jepsen Florence and the Machine Emmy the Great Diana Vickers Mutya Keisha Siobhan Theophilus London Empress Of
Website	http://bloodorange.nyc/

Devonté "Dev" Hynes (born David Joseph Michael Hynes, 23 December 1985), also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is a British-American 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.

He has written for artists such as Tinashe, Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA twigs, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diana Vickers, The Chemical Brothers and Kylie Minogue. Hynes was voted the 49th 'coolest person in rock' in NME's 2007 Cool List, jumping to position 20 in the following year's list.

Dev Hynes was born in London and raised in Ilford, East London. He was educated at the Chadwell Heath Foundation School, now known as Chadwell Heath Academy. From their formation in 2004 until their break-up in 2006, Hynes was a member of the dance-punk band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released only one full-length album, For Screening Purposes Only, in 2005. Hynes relocated to New York in 2007 where he now resides.

In early 2007, Hynes under the name Lightspeed Champion recorded his debut album in Omaha, Nebraska with Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis, most famous for his involvement with the band Bright Eyes. A number of Omaha-based musicians appeared on the record, including Mogis himself, trumpet player and pianist Nate Walcott (also of Bright Eyes), The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy the Great, along with moonlighting members of Cursive and Tilly and the Wall. These recording sessions resulted in the single "Galaxy of the Lost", released on 30 July 2007, and the album Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, released on 21 January 2008. The name 'Lightspeed Champion' comes from a series of comic strips Hynes drew as a teenager in his school mathematics books.