Growing up in the same environment leads to a shared understanding. In cities as big and diverse as London, each area exists almost as its own village, with regular characters and spaces you are only really familiar with if you are surrounded by them every day. Unbeknownst to each other at the time, Naomi Scott and Devonté Hynes both grew up being shaped by the same Ilford streets.
Over two decades later, both artists have become collaborators and friends. “Obviously, I was following you,” Scott says to Hynes, talking about their first interactions. “I don’t know when you started following me later on down the line, but I just went in like, ‘I’m your biggest fan, and I’m from Ilford!’”
Scott is most well-known as an actress, from her early appearances in Disney musicals Lemonade Mouth and Aladdin to last year’s turn as a strung-out pop star in horror smash Smile 2. Her talent and passion for music have been evident throughout her career, and earlier this year she released her debut album F.I.G – its title both an acronym for “Fall Into Grace” and a reference to Sylvia Plath’s famous fig tree analogy from The Bell Jar. Cohesive but still sonically experimental, the project reflects Scott’s clear vision for her music and artistry beyond film.
Hynes was involved as a collaborator, co-writing and producing “Cut Me Loose” and shooting the video for the lead single “Rhythm”. Last summer, Scott also appeared in the video for Blood Orange’s “The Field”, alongside her partner, footballer Jordan Spence.
Just before the call, Scott finds out that her New York show sold out instantly from pre-sales. Across the hour of their conversation, the pair yo-yo from thoughtful takes on the worlds they live in to trying to plan when they can play tennis. By the end of the call, Hynes ends up on the subway in New York City, waiting until the very last possible moment to end the conversation.
Below, the duo speak about touring, different interpretations of their songs, growing up in Ilford and more.
Do you remember how you both first met?
Dev Hynes: Broadway Market?
Naomi Scott: No, the first time we ever met was at the climbing gym. The only inkling that we might be friends is that he’s from Ilford. I knew this because obviously I stalked him, and I’m a big fan. I once said to my manager, ‘me and Dev Hynes are going to be friends one day because we’re both from Ilford.’
Dev Hynes: It’s real, though.
Naomi Scott: I remember I dropped you off at your family home, and driving past the specific Tesco’s and the Ilford exchange and all of these things. It was just like, ‘Oh, this is someone that I could have gone to school with.’
Dev Hynes: You’re right. You speak to people from places you grew up, but there’s something very different about when you’re both there at the same time. You see these places that, in your mind, are so specific.
“I think it’s a very rare thing that you meet someone that you’re like such a fan of, and then you actually become friends with them in a way that’s not just an acquaintance. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, but it happened with Devonté”
Naomi Scott: With your music, regardless of how experimental you get, there’s always that yummy melodic thing, which, if you strip everything back, is just good songwriting. I think it’s the combination that makes you special: the classical element, your sensibility as a writer and your ability as a producer to collaborate. You bring the right people in, then take 10,000 elements and hone them into something that is still easy and beautiful to listen to.
Dev Hynes: That’s kind of your energy, though. I feel I see that with this record, and even the videos, because the videos have been really amazing.
Naomi Scott: Thank you. I think sometimes limitations, even with resources and budget, actually force you to be more creative. I would love to have some more money for music videos, but where I’m at right now, it wouldn’t make sense for me coming out the gate with something super glossy.
Dev Hynes: How are you feeling since the release?
Naomi Scott: I feel so proud of it, and now it can just live and do its thing. I’m also feeling so happy about the way I’m putting out music at this point and being signed to an independent label. What’s really nice is that the way I’ve heard people talk about it feels exactly like the intention I had.
Dev Hynes: When’s the first show?
Naomi Scott: June 10 – where are you going to be? You’ve been pretty non-stop. Are you still enjoying it?
Dev Hynes: It’s the first time I’ve ever toured the year after [an album release]. I just thought, one life and all that. It’s almost a shame not to take the opportunities there.
Naomi Scott: People want it, mate.
Dev Hynes: People seem into it.
Naomi Scott: This is so you. After your tour, when you did Camp Flog Gnaw, people were just going wild. You’re just so funny. You are the antithesis of the narcissistic musician: I’m walking into the trailer afterwards and you’re like, ’I’m surprised there were quite a lot of people there’. I was like, ’yes, there were a lot of people, 1000s and 1000s screaming your songs.
Dev Hynes: Flog Gnaw was my first introduction to what I think Blood Orange has become. I’d been given some inklings in the months leading up – friends had told me about some TikTok things – but I was so detached that it was quite abstract. At that festival, I was a little bit like, ’shit, yeah, I have been making music for a long time.’ It’s not that I’ve taken that for granted, but it was a realisation that that is quite rare.
When I was younger, I’d take the train into central London and go see a lot of shows. I was one of those kids who would be lining up all day and waiting by the exit while everyone was leaving. You know this about me, but I’m a real fan of things that I like. I remember every interaction, whether it was good or bad, with the artists [I love]. I remember the shows, I remember if they played the song or if they didn’t play the song. I’m in this place now where it feels like a miracle I’m playing music still, and people want to listen.
Naomi Scott: I don’t know if it’s a miracle. I think it’s very good that you feel that way. But this is what’s so brilliant about just making music and continuing to be true to ourselves.
Dev Hynes: I have a question. What are the oldest and the youngest songs on F.I.G?
Naomi Scott: The oldest song is “Cut Me Loose”. I wrote it on the piano, and it’s a bit cheesier and kind of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Then I think the last song was “Gracie”.
Dev Hynes: That’s cool. I might have been able to guess that. I feel the bookend of a story of it.
Naomi Scott: I write in so many different ways. Maybe it’s a song I write on a piano, or maybe it’s something someone sends me, and I just top the line over it. I like to mix it up. With “Cut Me Loose”, there was literally a video of me in 2022, in Norway, dancing, and then it was like ‘Oh, this is the part – Dev will do something here’. What’s so funny is I don’t even know if I’d asked you yet. I knew that it would happen, and it did. We need to write that fun song that we’re trying to write. We’ve never properly got in the studio together.
Dev Hynes: It’s true, it’s kind of funny. But you’ve seen my studio. It’s pretty chill. It’s almost too chill.
Naomi Scott: I definitely always go to Dev for advice, but it’s usually about a creative process. He’s been there, done it, in terms of making bodies of work that stay true to yourself.
Dev Hynes: I’ve learnt a lot from you, actually, because I think the way you carry [yourself] is very strong. You’re secure, even if you’re unsure where to go next.
F.I.G is out now, and F.I.G Tour starts June 10
