Blood Orange @ ICA. 10/11/09

Devonte Hynes is an incredibly creative guy. He’s undergone a gradual transformation, starting off in punk act Test Icicles, finding his way around a guitar and keyboard. The next project- Lightspeed Champion- was at a complete tangent, embracing folk and pop sensibilities. In early 2008 new material began to pour out in streams; that he penned an album titled I Wrote And Recorded This Album In Less Than Five Hours speaks volumes about Hynes’ talent. In early 2009 he started to move further into the public domain, working with The Chemical Brothers, Whirlwind Heat, Basement Jaxx and writing songs for X-factor contestant Diana Vickers.

He recently added Blood Orange to his rapidly expanding list of projects. Showcasing a more processed, electronic side of his sound, it’s currently a solo project. I was lucky enough to see one of the first live performance of this new material, at the ICA (Institute Of Contemporary Arts).

Hynes stepped up to promote a new comic, Ctrl Alt + Shift Unmasks Corruption, to which he contributed. Pages from the comic were heavily featured on the night, and it was a perfect avenue to unveil his new material. The atmosphere was extremely chilled, the singer doing all of his own setup, coming on stage a number of times to fiddle with his samples and guitar, before launching into the set.

“I’m Sorry We Lied” is easily the strongest demo, and it opens the set. Relying on a scatter-gun drum machine loop and tight picking, it’s an atmospheric song that has generated interested in the project.

The bar is set high, and the next few songs fail to get the pulse going. Then the crunching bass of “S’Cooled” kicks in, flowing along with intricate melody. He’s most confident with a guitar in his hands, and not without reason: during moments of brilliance, his hands fly around the neck of the guitar, showcasing some excellent picking and tapping techniques. Blood Orange would benefit from a live band, a foundation that will no doubt be instated in the near future.

It’s not a particularly comfortable performance. As Lightpeed Champion, Dev flies between the guitar and piano, completely at ease with himself, consistently offering up “thanks” and adding an extra dimension to the material. Tongiht, there is little crowd interaction; perhaps a lack of familiarity or nerves are to blame, but Hynes seemed to be finding his away around the material.

He is, however, animated. Rid of his guitar on “Sutphin Boulevard”, he walks around stage, clenching his fist and punching the air. The setup is basic but it works- Devonte Hynes, a Macbook with samples, and his trusty guitar. On some songs he adds layers with his guitar and vocals, on others opting to leave things be.

The set ended abruptly, Hynes shutting his laptop and beginning to unplug cables before the crowd began shouting for more. Looking briefly at his watch, he shrugged his shoulders, opened up the Macbook and launched into one final song. “I thought this one was too shit to play!”.

Ultimately, Blood Orange is alive and kicking. For whilst his performance isn’t as comfortable as we had hoped, who can hold some stage-fright against the guy? Hynes clearly believes in this project, spending his cash to put together 4 retro music videos.

What has time taught us? Devonte Hynes is a creative genius. Watch this space.

Photos courtesy of Will Hines