Blending a way with words and elements of jazz, hip-hop, soul, and bedroom electronica into a sophisticated type of singer/songwriter fare, Rex Orange County is the performance alias of English musician Alex O'Connor. Raised in the village of Grayshott along the border of Hampshire and Surrey, O'Connor studied music at the BRIT School in London as a teenager. Gaining entrance on his main instrument, drums, he also sang and played guitar, and picked up piano and production software skills while working on his first album as a student there. With the "O.C." derived from O'Connor, he used the Rex Orange County moniker to self-release bcos u will never be free for streaming as a 17-year-old in 2015.nn As word of his distinctive style spread, he followed it up with songs like 2016's "Uno" and early 2017's "Best Friend" and "Sunflower" before releasing his second self-made LP, Apricot Princess, that April. Among his fans by that time was Tyler, the Creator, who featured Rex Orange County on two tracks from his Flower Boy album, released in July 2017. ~ Marcy Donelson