We go Under the Cover with musician Devonté Hynes as he visits us to discuss the role that books have played during the making of his upcoming album, Essex Honey, where he returns to his home county of Essex in search of beauty in his origins.

For Hynes, making a new album is something he ‘studies’ for by surrounding himself with books. Reflecting on how the language, visuals and ideas of his guiding material often show up in his work, Hynes cites painter John Constable's romantic visions of Essex landscapes as a key visual influence for his new record, using one of his works for the artwork of its first single, The Field. Watch as he reveals how books like Pasolini’s Roman Poems—carried with him wherever work has taken him in recent years—have shaped his poetic sensibility, and how a Deana Lawson photograph inspired his 2016 album Freetown Sound, ending up as its now iconic cover artwork.

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