One of Britain’s most idiosyncratic talents Lightspeed Champion is set to release his new album ‘Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You’ next year.
Real name Dev Hynes, the musician began life as the drummer in the short lived nu rave group Test Icicles. Making an ear bleeding racket, the band later split when it emerged that no one in Test Icicles wanted to listen to their own music.
Picking up his trusty acoustic guitar Dev Hynes began performing under the name Lightspeed Champion. Attracting a cult following the singer’s material seemed to come from some kind of dream world, at times surreal yet often heart breakingly honest.
Debut album ‘Falling Off The Lavender Bridge’ was an enormous success, spawning a series of successful tours. Since then Lightspeed Champion has undertaken a number of strange projects.
Covering the entire soundtrack to the cult 70s comedy ‘Harold And Maude’ the singer played a number of extremely unusual shows. Departing to the United States to record his second album, Lightspeed Champion is now set to unleash the results.
Beginning with his comeback single ‘Marlene’ the new material retains the otherworldly quality of his debut yet sees Dev Hynes expand into different realms.
A collection of twelve pop songs, two instrumental intermissions and one piano étude ‘Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You’ is due for release next year. Lightspeed Champion’s most ambitious statement to date, producer Ben Allen has mixed together Greek choruses, 70s rock guitar and the odd ukelele to produce something very special.
Written and arranged by Dev Hynes, Lightspeed Champion’s new album ‘Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You’ is due to be released on February 1st. Tracklisting is as follows:
1. Dead Head Blues
2. Marlene
3. There’s Nothing Underwater
4. Intermission
5. Faculty Of Fears
6. The Big Guns Of Highsmith
7. Romart
8. I Don’t Want To Wake Up Alone
9. Madame Van Damme
10. Smooth Day (At The Library)
11. Intermission 2
12. Sweetheart
13. Etude Op.3 ‘Goodnight Michalek’
14. Middle Of The Dark
15. A Bridge And A Goodbye
