Blood Orange
Cupid Deluxe

Devonte 'Dev' Hynes, son of Apollo, the God of Music, after leaving the project Test Icicles (when he still lived in Essex), had already distinguished himself on the New Continent in 2007, at just 22 years old, under the pseudonym 'Lightspeed Champion', a largely one-man band project. Memorable is the suite 'Midnight Surprise', a 10-minute piece that already foreshadowed his ability to blend various genres, uniting them under a single indie-pop-folk banner.
That very year he was voted as the "49th coolest person in rock" in the 'NME's 2007 Cool List'. The year after, he jumped to the twentieth position.
From here on, there was the close collaboration with Mike Mogis of Saddle Creek Records (Nebraska), the production of two albums (Falling Off The Lavender Bridge and Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, both under the solid American Domino Records) and the tours that initially saw him alone on stage, along with a computer, some bases, and a guitar, sometimes supported by a full band and dressed extravagantly: in February 2008, the group performed at the NME 2008 Awards wearing Star Wars character masks. Towards the end of 2009, due to a throat surgery, he had to suspend his live activity for about two years, appearing only sporadically on stages, such as that of the Barbican Centre in London. During this phase, the number of collaborations grew, like those with Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine (who opens during the 2012 tour), Sky Ferreira, Emmy The Great, Britney Spears, Alex Turner, We Are Scientists, The Wombats, The Horrors.

With the Lightspeed Champion period coming to an end, a new project begins, more electronic, more in-depth: Blood Orange. The first album, 'Coastal Grooves', released in August 2011, resumes the orchestral folk-pop lines already established in previous years, contaminating them with new wave and funk that are much appreciated.

Cupid Deluxe presents us with a question mark: the cover. Devonté, why?
The guy is quirky, but, aside from that, his hairstyle and glasses (ah these young New York hipsters), the album, 11 tracks, is a careful union of a great variety of genres, and the talent shines through.  It starts with 'Chamakay', eastern influences and solid electronic bases that take us into the heart of the artist's creativity as he enlists the fantastic voice of Caroline Polachek from Chairlift (and a woman of fine making, not to mention a hottie).
Never banal, the basslines convince more and more with each listen ('Uncle ACE' that merges into Daft Punkian funk, 'No Right Thing' and the hidden riffs) and the sound seems to be meticulously cared for; the mostly electronic drum bases create harmony and progress as the tracks unfold. Strategically placed, midway through the disc, we find 'Chosen', the point of union and rupture: if so far the atmospheres have warmed and tinted in various shades (the dreamy and Caribbean 'No Right Thing' where perhaps I alone hear some resemblance in the voice to good old Sascha Ring, alias Apparat), now they lead to greater intimacy; the symbol track of the album opens with a nice tangle of very '80s horns, a bass line to make Marcus Miller envious (delicious popping and slides here and there), guitars, and synth-pop vocal choirs of high finish.
There is space for a couple of hip-hop tracks ('High Street', featuring the rapper Skepta and 'Clipped On' with the collaboration of Despot) and for a final gem: if you want to go all the way to the end of the album, you will discover a reprise, 'Time Will Tell', which 'revisits' the beautiful 'It Is What It Is' (Track No. 5), featuring a vocal duet of Dev and his girlfriend, Samantha Urbani, that indie blonde who also sings with Friends and presents herself with an equally eccentric look, a sugary voice, and a certain resignation.
I wonder how I'll stop humming the chorus.

In short, our boy has grown up and is now ready to take a leap forward, who knows, maybe to finally conquer the Big Apple. In the meantime, we wish him to mature even more, and we hope he will come to delight us with one or two dates soon.