Lightspeed Champion In early 2007, Hynes, under the name Lightspeed Champion, recorded his debut album in
Omaha, Nebraska, with
Saddle Creek producer
Mike Mogis. A number of Omaha-based musicians appeared on the record, including Mogis himself, trumpet player and pianist
Nate Walcott,
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 30 July 2007, and the album
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, released on 21 January 2008. The name "Lightspeed Champion" comes from a series of comic strips Hynes drew as a teenager in his school mathematics books. The touring band for the
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge album at various points consisted of friends of Hynes' from other bands, including
Florence Welch of
Florence and the Machine and Emmy the Great. Mike Siddell, formerly of
Hope of the States, played violin with the band. Anna Prior, formerly of Leeds bands
Dead Disco and the Ivories, played drums for most of the tour. Other guest members to have contributed in live shows include
Alex Turner of the
Arctic Monkeys,
Faris Badwan of
the Horrors, Frederick Blood-Royale of
Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man,
Jack Peñate and Eugene McGuinness as well as
We Are Scientists' Keith Murray on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 6 June 2008. Backed by a full band, Hynes appeared at the
NME 2008 Awards, broadcast on
Channel 4 on 29 February 2008, dressed as characters from
Star Wars, including
Princess Leia on the drums. The band's affinity with
Star Wars continued when they played the main theme to the trilogy at the
Wireless Festival in 2008. Hynes and a violinist Mike Siddell began a short US tour in March 2008, ending with an appearance at
SXSW in 2008. At SXSW, they befriended
the Wombats, who supported them at a
Royal Albert Hall concert. Hynes also performed with We Are Scientists at the
Glastonbury in 2008 (John Peel Stage) and appeared at Belgian music festival
Pukkelpop in August 2008. By the end of what became a two-year touring period, Hynes had suffered severe damage to his throat, and had to undergo extensive surgery. He took a two and a half-year hiatus from touring, appearing occasionally to play shows in New York and a top billed slot at the
Carling Festival in 2009. In December 2008, Hynes was asked on behalf of the
British Film Institute to perform the soundtrack of the cult
Hal Ashby film
Harold and Maude after a screening of the performance. Hynes had to cancel this due to an operation he had to undergo on his throat. The event was rescheduled for May 2009. In July 2009 Hynes reprised the soundtrack and performed at
Latitude Festival. In June 2009, Hynes performed at the
Barbican Centre in London in commemoration of the composer
Moondog, singing renditions along with
London Saxophonic of songs from the Moondog album
Sax Pax for a Sax. He also sang "Fujiyama Part 2" backed by the Britten Sinfonia. In April 2010, Hynes returned to the Barbican to perform with
the Triffids for a special concert in honour of their singer
David McComb along with
Warren Ellis,
Tindersticks and members of
the Brian Jonestown Massacre. He returned for a two-week European tour in June 2010. Hynes has 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 of covers of
Green Day songs. The second Lightspeed Champion album,
Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, was released in 2010. Hynes retired the project to focus fully on his Blood Orange project.
Blood Orange With Lightspeed Champion on effective hiatus, Hynes decided to concentrate on a new musical project more focused on
R&B and electronica, called Blood Orange. Various live performances under this alias took place in New York and London within November and December 2009, consisting of Hynes, a guitar, and a laptop. On 17 December 2009, Hynes performed a song titled "Forget It" on the final ''
It's On with Alexa Chung'' show on
MTV. He performed to a backing track dressed in a wizard costume. Hynes' debut single under the moniker Blood Orange, "Dinner", was released in January 2011 on
Terrible Records, with an accompanying video directed by Alan Del Rio that debuted on
Pitchfork TV. Following this, his full-length record
Coastal Grooves was released in August 2011 on
Domino Records. The song "Sutphin Boulevard" was featured on the 17 January 2011 premiere episode of the MTV show
Skins. On 9 April 2012, Hynes embarked on a tour as Blood Orange opening for
Florence and the Machine. In November 2013, Hynes released the second Blood Orange album,
Cupid Deluxe. The album features guest appearances, including performances from
David Longstreth (of
Dirty Projectors),
Caroline Polachek (of
Chairlift),
Samantha Urbani (of
Friends),
Clams Casino,
Despot,
Kindness,
Skepta and more. The album was promoted by three singles: "Chamakay", "You're Not Good Enough" and "Uncle ACE". The album was streamed in full on Hynes' own YouTube channel on 5 November 2013. The album also includes a cover of "
I Can Only Disappoint U", originally by the British rock group
Mansun under the title "Always Let You Down". In November, Blood Orange appeared on the cover of
The Fader in its 89th issue. Hynes scored the 2013 film
Palo Alto, directed by
Gia Coppola. On 8 January 2014, it was announced that Blood Orange was on the line-up for
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in
Indio, California. In November 2015, Hynes released a collaborative EP with New Zealand
psychedelic pop artist
Connan Mockasin titled
Myths 001: Collaborative Recordings Captured in Marfa, TX 9–16 March 2015. On 18 April 2016, Hynes announced his third record under the Blood Orange moniker would be entitled
Freetown Sound. It was released on 28 June 2016, three days ahead of the planned 1 July 2016 release. His album
Freetown Sound was shortlisted by
IMPALA (Independent Music Companies Association) for the Album of the Year Award 2016, which rewards on a yearly basis the best album released on an independent European label. On 19 July 2018, he announced his fourth studio album under the Blood Orange moniker,
Negro Swan, and released in the following week its first two singles: "Charcoal Baby" and "Jewelry". The album was released on 24 August 2018. On 25 June 2019, Hynes announced his fifth release under the Blood Orange moniker in an interview with
Cultured Magazine. The mixtape, titled ''
Angel's Pulse'', was released on 12 July 2019. In 2022, Hynes performed alongside
Liam Benzvi on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Benzvi, Tariq Al-Sabir, Eva Tolkin, and Ian Isiah at Madison Square Garden as part of
Harry Styles' Love On Tour. In September 2022, it was announced Hynes had signed to
RCA Records. On June 26, 2025 Hynes released "The Field" (which features a sample of
The Durutti Column's track "Sing To Me"), the lead single for his fifth studio album,
Essex Honey, announced on July 17, 2025. That same day, he also released the dual single, "Somewhere in Between" and "Mind Loaded". The album's final single, "Countryside", was released on 27 August 2025, and the album itself was released on 29 August 2025. In support of
Essex Honey, Hynes embarked on a North American and European tour during the autumn of 2025, including serving as a support act on both
Lorde and
Turnstile's respective tours, the
Ultrasound World Tour and the
Never Enough Tour. On April 10 and 17, 2026 Hynes returned to the stage at
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as Blood Orange. He performed fan-favourite songs like "Champagne Coast" and "Bad Girls" on his set. ==Writing and producing for other artists==