Blood Orange announces new album 'Essex Honey'

Photo: Vinca Peterson

After six years of silence, Dev Hynes—better known as Blood Orange—has officially announced his return. His new album 'Essex Honey' arrives on the 29th August via RCA Records, marking his first full-length since 2018’s 'Negro Swan'. Written, produced, and recorded entirely by Hynes, the record is a deeply personal reflection on grief, healing, and home.

'Essex Honey' explores Hynes’ formative years growing up in Essex, the outer boroughs of London, and how music has shaped every step of his journey. Blending his signature dreamlike production with themes of memory, loss, and self-discovery, the album is described as a “soundtrack from a dreamscape.”

As expected from a Blood Orange release, the record features a sprawling, genre-defying list of collaborators, both familiar and unexpected. Guests include Lorde, Caroline Polachek, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, Brendan Yates (Turnstile), Ian Isiah, Tirzah, Eva Tolkin, and Kelly Zutrau (Wet). Notably, 'Essex Honey' also features author Zadie Smith, who lends her voice to a track, marking her debut as a recording artist. Actors Naomi Scott and Amandla Stenberg also appear, adding further texture to the album’s cinematic feel.

Hynes has also shared the first two singles from the album, 'Mind Loaded' and 'Somewhere In Between', both of which showcase the introspective beauty and genre fluidity that have made Blood Orange one of the most celebrated and influential voices in modern alt-R&B.