channel ORANGE

Frustrated that Def Jam refused to release his own solo material, Frank Ocean released his critically and commercially acclaimed debut mixtape, nostalgia,ULTRA. for free on his Tumblr page. After the label realized they had missed out on a major financial opportunity, they made a deal with Ocean and allowed him to record a full length studio album, and he was given full creative control.

Writing for channel ORANGE began in February, 2011 after Ocean paired with his friend Malay in preparation for recording. Unlike the material on nostalgia,ULTRA., channel ORANGE’s lyrics reflect Ocean’s personal experiences as well as fusing his imagination and film references. The album also notably featured the point of view of homosexual love, and music outlets began to theorize as to why this could be. As a response, Ocean uploaded his now famous and personal statement revealing his own homosexual feelings. Once the written material was completed for the album, Ocean began to record at EastWest Studios, as well as an array of other locations scattered around the Southern Californian area and partially in Manhattan.

Compared to its predecessor, channel ORANGE had a very different sound, which incorporated older R&B styles similar to artists like Marvin Gaye and Sly and the Family Stone. Producer Malay played most of the instruments on the album (with some other artists like André 3000 and John Mayer filling in), showing another stark difference between the album and the mixtape, as the latter focused more on the use of samples. For other vocal performances and features, Ocean brought in his Odd Future associates Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator. In July of 2012, Ocean announced a tour that would support the release of the album, which ultimately sold out in just over a month.

Released one week prior than its scheduled date, channel ORANGE was met with immediate critical and commercial acclaim. Critics praised the album for its lyrical subject matter, and others praised it for its instrumentation. By the end of the year, channel ORANGE was named the best album of the year by numerous music outlets, and in 2013 Ocean was nominated for 4 Grammy awards and brought 1 back home. Despite channel ORANGE being a relatively new release, many major music sources have listed the album as one of the greatest releases of all time, placing high on lists from Rolling Stone Magazine and NME.