Devonté Hynes: We Are Who We Are | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- In his original score for the HBO series We Are Who We Are, Devonte ‘Dev’ Hynes, the man behind the Blood Orange persona, offers some of his most emotive classical arrangements yet. In the same way that his work as Blood Orange explored tranquil R&B riven with a subversive vein of discontent - his new, original score challenges contemporary classical with the inclusion of synthesisers and drones. The show follows an American teenager forced to move to a military base in Italy, where his mother, the new commander, is stationed. In this unfamiliar home he discovers equally fresh and unexpected desires. The simple, elegant, yet forward-thinking score by Hynes captures the complex, modern, yet timeless drama and romance of We Are Who We Are.

This score, though largely based around piano solos, offers enough experimentation and flair to shimmer like an auditory expression of coming of age. Sparing, even sparse in its instrumentation, the score opens with The Long Ride II, an instrumental ballad that owes as much to the sultry, postmodern aesthetic of the OST's album artwork as the arpeggiated keys that float through Hynes’ score, often reprising the melody of this opening track. You'll hear that most notably in its inverted reprise, The Long Ride I, almost identical in sound, appearing later in the score with increasingly intricate melodic writing, keeping pace with the deepening plot.

Notte Transfigurata I reminds me of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ work on the score of The Social Network and last year’s A24 effort Waves, with Hynes’ suspenseful synths overlaying any other instrumentation. It’s gentle and melancholic, but feels powerful in its refusal of a more traditional composition. Body of Me, another standout track, features stark keys that gradually build into a larger soundscape, full of life. In We Are Who We Are, Body of Me is a recurring motif, featuring a line of poetry by Ocean Vuong from his book Night Sky With Exit Wounds, “In the body, where everything has a price, I was a beggar” it becomes a leitmotif for one of the character's growing understanding of their gender identity.

I'm not sure if Dev expected to find himself actually in the show, but his Blood Orange album Cupid Deluxe becomes an object of discussion between two characters, talking about the trans woman featured in its artwork, as they question their own gender identity and sexuality. Hynes may not be in the cast, be he still helps out, with that track Body of Me becoming an aural symbol for a genderfluid understanding of identity.

We Are Who We Are, is a limited TV series, but every episode follows on with a breathless urgency. So much so that the writers even titled every single one Right Here Right Now, without seeming pretentious. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, this electric connection the discrete parts led him to describe We Are Who We Are more as a film than TV (again, it doesn't feel pretentious). Following 2018’s Suspiria and 2017’s Call Me By Your Name and just like their soundtracks composed respectively by Thom Yorke and Sufjan Stevens, Hynes' work proves to be another astute choice, fitting the material with an ease that feels natural.

Dev Hynes’ simple yet effective score for We Are Who We Are, adds a tantalising quality to the series as its characters discover each other and themselves, navigating identity, relationships and sexuality. As the show progresses -ably abetted by Hynes' versatile work- it's signal of its success that such themes feel ever more universal.

- Sean Tayler.