Lightspeed Champion biography
Dev Hynes (born 23 December 1985 in Houston, Texas), better known as Lightspeed Champion (or sometimes Blood Orange) is a British composer, songwriter, producer and author, who has written #1 records for artists such as Florence and the Machine, Diana Vickers and The Chemical Brothers on their 2007 Grammy award winning album We Are The Night. He is currently signed to Domino Records.
Hynes was born in Houston, Texas but was raised in Essex, England from the age of 2. He was educated at the Chadwell Heath Foundation School, now known as Chadwell Heath Academy. He currently resides in New York. The name 'Lightspeed Champion' comes from a series of comic strips Hynes drew as a teenager in his school mathematics books. Hynes was voted the 49th 'coolest person in rock' in NME's 2007 Cool List, jumping to position 20 in the following year's list. From their formation in 2004 until their break-up in 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. The band were known for their blisteringly crazy and diverse music and for their raucous live performances. They released only one full-length album (For Screening Purposes Only) in 2005.
In early 2007, Hynes recorded his debut album in Omaha, Nebraska with Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis, most famous for his involvement with the band Bright Eyes. A number of Omaha-based musicians appear on the record, including Mogis himself, trumpet player and pianist Nate Walcott (also of Bright Eyes), The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy The Great - along with moonlighting members of Cursive and Tilly And The Wall.
These recording sessions resulted in the single "Galaxy of the Lost", released on July 30, 2007, and the album Falling off the Lavender Bridge, released on January 21, 2008.
Hynes has also recorded a number of bootlegs and unofficial releases, made available to the public through his blog and MySpace. These include an album written and recorded entirely in a day and an EP consisting only of covers of Green Day songs.
Hynes has also written and contributed songs to a number of other acts. His arrangements and vocals have appeared on songs by The Chemical Brothers ("All Rights Reversed", from 2007's Grammy award winning album We Are The Night which entered the UK Albums Chart at #1), Basement Jaxx (on their album Scars), as well as Florence and the Machine for her #1 album Lungs and Solange Knowles.
He has co-written and produced songs for Diana Vickers. on Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree which debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
He has also produced and written songs for the forthcoming Theophilus London album including the Lovers Holiday e.p.
Hynes also has contributed music to the film MacGruber, released summer 2010, including the duet "Rock My Body" with SNL cast member Kristen Wiig.
He is currently in the studio working on the new Solange Knowles album.
Biography from 
, the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.