KM: What kind of things did you do to soothe or comfort yourself during quarantine?
DH: Reading a lot. I mean, more than usual reading. Like a crazy amount. And going deeper into sports, which is really my first love in the world.
KM: Do you play any sports?
DH: I’m a psycho tennis fan. I play every day of my life. And I play football—as in, soccer. I was playing on two teams. I recently had to stop because of an injury, but at the end of the season I’m going to come back. Tennis and football have just been my entire life, really. That was the beginning of my life and so it’s come back with a vengeance. I think we sometimes believe we can’t really do things when we’re older, or pick things back up, because we think it’s a negative that we can’t master it. And that holds a lot of people back from doing the things that are very enjoyable, very fun and educational. There is this idea that if you can’t do something really, really well then maybe you shouldn’t do it. And I’m strongly against that.
This may sound kind of crazy, but I feel like all the Blood Orange shit is really that. Everything to do with it is for fun, and to just appease myself. I mean, for example, I didn’t study graphic design, but I’ve done all the artwork. If there’s a tour poster, I’ve done every single one, and merch, and all that kind of stuff. I don’t want to be a master of graphic design.3 It’s not something I want to explore and I have zero interest in doing it for other people. But it’s a fun thing for me to play around with, within the context of this world that I’ve been lucky to be able to create and work in.
KM: At this stage in your life, what has been the most surprising development or revelation?
DH: Lately, I feel like I care even less about outside noise. Even though I cared little before. And that’s in terms of—it sounds so cliché—social media, Instagram, and all that kind of stuff. I almost have a determination, in regard to real-world experiences.4
KM: You mean a determination to have real-world experiences?
DH: Yeah, but not in the sense of like, traveling to Egypt, but more like in the sense of talking to people. Because people are trying to convince us that everything lives inside this tiny phone, and I just feel like it’s really dark. It really grosses me out. And I just want nothing to do with it. I want to have my family, my friends and my loved ones, and I just want to exist in the world.
KM: Have you considered directing a feature-length film?
DH: I’ve thought about it. When people do a lot of different things, I think it’s still always good to respect the art form. I never just want to jump into it. I want it to feel as natural for me as when I do Blood Orange stuff. I don’t necessarily know how that can happen but I want to get to a point where it becomes a very natural form of expression.
KM: What’s next for Blood Orange, in terms of what you’re creating and what you hope to create?
DH: Unsure. In between every Blood Orange project I never really know if there’s another one, if I’m honest. I’m always aware there would be, but I have no idea when or how. I’m working on stuff because I’m always working on stuff. There’s definitely no live shows, for a fact. That’s something I can guarantee. No live shows about to happen in any form for a long time. But maybe music in two years.