It's been three years since Blood Orange (a.k.a. Dev Hynes) delivered the excellent Cupid Deluxe LP, and while he's been plenty busy since (working with Canadian pop stars like Carly Rae Jepsen and Nelly Furtado), he's yet to unleash a proper follow-up. Fortunately, his next solo release is on its way.
In a new interview with V Magazine, Hynes revealed that the next Blood Orange album will be called Freetown Sound.
Of the release, he said, "It's pretty strange. There are a lot of samples on this record, but not necessarily songs made from samples. It's all me. It's inspired by old Dust Brothers records, very cut and paste. It's like my version of Paul's Boutique. It kind of plays like a long mixtape."
Further, he explained that the album delves into themes of Christianity and how that religion affected his upbringing. He offered the following, lengthy statement on that matter:
This is a very layered and very deep record for me. There's a lot of meaning behind all of the choices I've made for this one. It looks into my childhood and examines who I am at this point in my life. There are so many crazy layers to it that it's actually quite hard to talk about it, but the record is very reflective of how my brain works. This is gonna sound terrifying, but there is a strong theme of Christianity on the record. When I was growing up, Christianity was drilled into my head so intensely, to the point where, as a child, I was meant to be left-handed but was forced to use my right instead. Left-handedness was seen as a sign of darkness. Freetown Sound also has a lot to do with Freetown—the capital of Sierra Leone—which is where my dad is from. The record addresses the way Christianity was brought to West Africa and the way black households held on very tightly to Christianity because it was this beacon of hope…and how eventually this somehow led to someone in a school telling me not to use my left hand. It's been very interesting for me trying to understand and tie all of these things together. It's been a way of working through it. There's also a lot of stuff about race and specifically things that have happened to me.
It's not exactly clear when Freetown Sound will be available, but V suggests that it's set to land this spring. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
In a new interview with V Magazine, Hynes revealed that the next Blood Orange album will be called Freetown Sound.
Of the release, he said, "It's pretty strange. There are a lot of samples on this record, but not necessarily songs made from samples. It's all me. It's inspired by old Dust Brothers records, very cut and paste. It's like my version of Paul's Boutique. It kind of plays like a long mixtape."
Further, he explained that the album delves into themes of Christianity and how that religion affected his upbringing. He offered the following, lengthy statement on that matter:
This is a very layered and very deep record for me. There's a lot of meaning behind all of the choices I've made for this one. It looks into my childhood and examines who I am at this point in my life. There are so many crazy layers to it that it's actually quite hard to talk about it, but the record is very reflective of how my brain works. This is gonna sound terrifying, but there is a strong theme of Christianity on the record. When I was growing up, Christianity was drilled into my head so intensely, to the point where, as a child, I was meant to be left-handed but was forced to use my right instead. Left-handedness was seen as a sign of darkness. Freetown Sound also has a lot to do with Freetown—the capital of Sierra Leone—which is where my dad is from. The record addresses the way Christianity was brought to West Africa and the way black households held on very tightly to Christianity because it was this beacon of hope…and how eventually this somehow led to someone in a school telling me not to use my left hand. It's been very interesting for me trying to understand and tie all of these things together. It's been a way of working through it. There's also a lot of stuff about race and specifically things that have happened to me.
It's not exactly clear when Freetown Sound will be available, but V suggests that it's set to land this spring. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
