Coachella Spotlight #15: Blood Orange

Today I wanted to shed some light on an artist performing at Coachella that I haven't heard before this morning. I don't know whether it was his name, his picture, or both at the same time that made me look his music up, but I feel like this could be a cool artist to see during the day to just kick it and watch while you hang out with your friends and try to escape the hot desert sun in the Gobi or Majove tents. Cool off and check out Blood Orange!

Blood Orange, a.k.a. Devonte Hynes, is a British singer/songwriter who has been pursuing a musical career since 2004. He dabbled in a few different bands and songwriting projects for other artists until he formed Lightspeed Champion in 2007. As Lightspeed Champion he released two alternative/indie rock albums that began to show Dev and his style off to the world. By 2009 Lightspeed Champion had gone on an indefinite hiatus, leaving Dev free to explore his musical career on his own. Then he formed Blood Orange with just him, a laptop and a guitar.

Blood Orange is much more contemporary sounding, with its soulful/80's sounding electronic beats and vocals. I really like what he has done with his new found direction. It reminds me of The Weeknd at times, but less talk about drugs and girls wanting to be naked and more self-reflective lyrics about his personal feelings or relationships.

His latest album, Cupid Deluxe, is full of groovy tunes that make me excited to see him at Coachella. The first track, Chamakay, sets the tone for the album with its subdued, whisper-y vocals, xylophone-esque synths and smooth saxophone to bring it all home at the end. Check it out below and get in the mood.

The other track that stood out to me was also the most popular track on the album, called You're Not Good Enough. This song has a strong guitar riff throughout that brings a little more life to this track compared to some of the others. I love the synths he uses to fill the space in the background. They give it that 80's vibe that is super in right now. Check it out below



Lastly I wanted to show one of his older songs that I think is great. He covered Florence + The Machine's Never Let Me Go, but left a good amount of Florence Welch's vocals in his version as he sings along side her. It is really beautiful. I can see this track never getting old, as it has so much emotion and power with its minimal beat allowing the vocals to shine. This is one of the best covers I have ever heard.



Make sure you check out Blood Orange at Coachella! You can always use a good chill-out sesh to refresh yourself for the rest of the night.

Happy Coachella! <3

Top 10 of 2013: A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP

It was hard for me to pick a favorite hip hop album of the year. There were a couple contenders: like Pusha T (Who I have already told you my thoughts on last month) or Chance The Rapper with Acid Rap. But, after thinking about the diversity of songs that each rapper had on their album, I had to give it to A$AP Rocky's debut, Long.Live.A$AP.

The very first thing that stands out to me about this album are the features. It has some of the biggest rap names in the game sprinkled all throughout. The radio hit, Fuckin Problems, features 3 of the biggest names in 2013: 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar. He also attempts to blend genres and leave his comfort zone by bringing on the likes of Florence Welch from Florence & The Machine and Skrillex. Check out what I mean in I Come Apart.

This song has so many good tracks on it that it is hard to pick which ones I want to highlight. However, there is one song that was a big influence on picking this as the only hip hop album to feature on this list. 1Train is almost like a cypher of sorts, as it features a bunch of heavy hitters all over the same, repetitive beat. Kendrick Lamar kills it, like always. Joey Badass, Yelawolf and Danny Brown also lay down bad ass verses. Check out this gem of a track below.

Then there is classic A$AP tracks on the album, like Goldie. This is quintessential A$AP Rocky, just casually spitting over a hard, simplistic beat about what makes him better than the rest. I love this track, as it's perfect for just cruising around town. Check it out below

Check out the rest of the album on my Best of 2013 Spotify Playlist or follow him on Facebook!

Enjoy! <3