Channel Orange

About Channel Orange

Channel Orange (stylized as channel ORANGE) is the debut studio album by American R&B singer and songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra in 2011, Ocean began writing new songs with Malay, a producer and songwriter who assisted him with recording the album at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. Rather than rely on samples as he had with his mixtape, Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on Channel Orange. He titled the album as a reference to the neurological phenomenon grapheme-color synesthesia and the color he claimed to have perceived during the summer he first fell in love. Channel Orange has an unconventional musical style, film-inspired segue tracks, and songs that draw on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelic music. Ocean's songwriting touches on themes such as unrequited love, decadence, class, and drugs through the use of surrealistic imagery, conversational devices, and descriptive narratives depicting dark characters. His singing on the album exhibits free-form flow and alternating falsetto and tenor registers. The album features guest appearances from Odd Future artists Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator, along with appearances from André 3000 and John Mayer. Production is handled by Ocean himself, Om'Mas Keith, Malay, and Pharrell Williams. more »