Well, it looks like Frank Ocean might release a new album very soon.
The Orange Channel singer released a frankly cryptic message to fans with his newest merch drop. His Blonded merch package was released with a poster the seemingly explains the reason for the string of singles he started dropping back in 2019. In the message, he refers to himself as “the Recording Artist” and attempts to make a case why more artists release singles instead of albums.
Back sides of the posters from the recent Blonded merch sale tell a narrative that’s as close to an album announcement as we’ll ever get from Frank Ocean. pic.twitter.com/15nvU780No
— blonded.blog (@blondedblog) January 16, 2023
The full poster text reads:
“In the summer of 2019, Blonded produced a photo series shot on Thursday, August 8, 2019, by photographer Michael Marcelle. The photo series follows the story of a fictitious Recording Artist as he navigates the radio system.
In one scene the actor Jeremy Strong plays a Chairman of a major record label. On the walls: a clock, two framed records. The Chairman is flanked by another figure. Both are dressed in suits, wearing ties, and are positioned behind a long boardroom table. They are opposite a shadowed figure in the foreground—the Recording Artist—whose subjectivity the viewer is to inhabit.
The Recording Artist attempts to explain to the major music label the singles distribution model as opposed to the long-form album model. The Recording Artist believes the latter to be outdated, and that releasing singles is more suited to modern consumption habits where people curate their own playlists which are then shared within private circles. The meeting does not appear to be productive.
The photo series coincided with the planning of three Blonded live radio events that year. They were held on three Thursday nights towards the end of 2019, in the basement of the Knockdown Center in Queens, New York. On October 19th, 24th, and the 31st, 2019, doors opened at 10PM. A custom nightclub with vintage lighting fixtures was installed for the duration of each party.
On the first night, Bouffant Bouffant played at 10:15PM, followed by Justice at midnight, Sango at 1:15AM and Sherelle at 2:30AM. Leeon, Arca, Papi Juice, Shyboi, Joey LaBeija, Last Japan, and DJ Heather played sets on subsequent nights.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these events were intended to grow from small club events to larger raves across the world.
The Recording Artist has since changed his mind about the singles model, and is again interested in more durational bodies of work.”
So there we have it. Maybe? It certainly appears that Ocean is at the very least interested in dropping a new album, and at this point, we’ll take what we can get.
Ocean’s last full album was released way back in 2016. Blonde was the follow-up to 2012’s Grammy-winning Channel Orange, and since then, Ocean’s released only a handful of singles — mere crumbs for his fans. He’s set to finally headline Coachella later this year, which would be a pretty great time to release new music. Just saying.
