From Pitchfork Music Festival 2018: Blood Orange Blesses with a Rare Appearance

Dev Hynes, the virtuosic British producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who records under the name Blood Orange, has time and time again proved himself as one of the most talented musicians on the planet. On top of writing and producing three LPs for Blood Orange across the past decade, he’s also produced for artists like FKA Twigs, Solange, and yes, even Carly Rae Jepsen. His effortlessly charismatic set on Saturday evening felt like a holy experience not only because it affirmed his ingenuity and musical prowess, but also because it offered an exciting and relatively rare glimpse into Hynes as a performer. “I’M IN A PLAYING SHOWS MOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS G,” Hynes tweeted only three months ago, and announced a series of tour dates shortly after—Pitchfork being second on the list. The music gods have been overly generous to us: When Hynes and his band graced the Green Stage with performances of songs spanning his entire catalog, the experience felt like a blessing from beginning to end.

Listening to the meticulously produced Blood Orange tracks through a pair of headphones is a staggering experience in and of itself. But Hynes’s magnetism, coupled with his imbuing each real-time rendition with sparkling, improvised details, made the live experience feel ephemeral and special. Such was the case for the group’s luminous rendition of “Augustine,” a gorgeous single from Blood Orange’s most recent record “Freetown Sound.” “Nontheta / We heard it all from you,” Hynes crooned repeatedly, each time, embellishing the hook with an effortlessly ad-libbed vocal run, gifting his audience with minute flourishes unfound in the studio recordings. Throughout it all, it was impossible not to surrender in dance to the song’s infectious beat—but perhaps even more than that, it was impossible not to succumb to the gravitational pull of Hynes’s voice and stunning use of wordplay, as he sang references to Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo and the shooting of Trayvon Martin, all in the same breath.

Hynes, known by most as a high-profile producer, also proved himself just as capable a performer, bringing his catalog to life with high-energy performances backed by a spectacular, capable band. Particularly, although his performance of “Chamakay”—a track from back in 2013—didn’t elicit crowd sing-alongs as readily as “Freetown Sound” pieces, he and his band exuded a rapturous energy that the crowd met with enthusiastic cheers. At one point, the stage was a glorious frenzy, with Hynes spinning around and dancing to the beats he’d devised himself, his backing vocalists engaging in complex counterpoint harmonies, and his saxophonist downstage delivering a series of soulful runs atop it all. While Hynes alone is a delight to watch, his live band boasts an impressive group of musicians whose collective energies only complimented Hynes’s charisma and kept the set invigorating and refreshing.

If performing songs from his existing catalog wasn’t exhilarating enough for his audience, Hynes made the set feel even more exciting by segueing into a series of brand new, unheard songs from his forthcoming full-length: “Negro Swan,” out Aug. 24 via Domino Records. “I have a new album coming out,” he announced with the slightest hint of a smile, to which the audience thundered back in cheers, no doubt eager for new content since 2016’s “Freetown.” One unnamed song Hynes shared off the new record—perhaps the eponymous track—found himself brooding aloud to glittering synths. “No one wants to be the negro swan,” Hynes sighed, then pivoted. “But can you break sometimes?” Despite the audience being completely unfamiliar with the unreleased material, the performances were clear highlights, only deepening the already-great anticipation and excitement for Blood Orange’s imminent return.

As Hynes and his band closed with an adrenaline-charged performance of the pristine, danceable E.V.P from “Freetown,” it was difficult to believe the set was about to finish. It was approaching ten minutes earlier than the scheduled end-time, and when you’re in the middle of one of the festival’s best sets by far, it’s easy to feel a bit of remorse for the eight precious minutes of Blood-Orange-that-could-have-been. No matter, in the end—as Hynes’s voice pirouetted through one final chorus, all one could possibly feel was a sense of awe and gratitude for the experience he’d just gifted.

—Staff writer Patricia M. Guzman can be reached at patricia.guzman@thecrimson.com.