He’s previously had a strained relationship with his label, as seen when he put out his debut 2011 mixtape independently on his blog because, he said, Def Jam wouldn’t release it officially.
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Ocean isn’t giving interviews, and Def Jam hasn’t officially commented on the situation, but this all seems like some pretty remarkable maneuvering on the artist’s part. A source told Pitchfork that Endless, the aforementioned visual album that immediately preceded Blond(e), “fulfills Frank’s obligations to Def Jam and Universal.” On Tuesday, news broke that Ocean was no longer with the major label Def Jam and that Blond(e) had been released independently. To borrow and pervert a buzzphrase, he’s culture jamming, injecting some individuality into a corporatized system and, perhaps, antagonizing it. That a highly anticipated release from a major artist doesn’t have an agreed-upon title fits Ocean’s apparent business mission in 2016, too. Which is another way of saying the “e” is for “enigmatic.” It’d make some sense if it was: The so-called “God particle” can either contain mass or not, almost immediately disappears into nothingness after coming into somethingness, was first detected by humans in July 2012 (a few days before Ocean’s album Channel Orange arrived!), and, of course, is prone to mis-explanation and misunderstanding by laymen like me. The last song on Endless, the visual album he released 48 hours before Blond(e), is called “Higgs,” which may or may not be a reference to the subatomic particle of the Higgs Boson. That Ocean’s new album could be spelled either way might be a reflection of his own sexuality-lyrics on the album refer to relationships with both men and women.īut I’ve actually taken to thinking about the “e” in Blond(e) in even more high-concept terms-a symbol of all the ambiguity that fascinates Ocean. The most common theory for the meaning of the spelling duality is that the word “blonde” is a gendered adjective, referring to fair-haired women, while “blond” can apply to anyone. “I got two versions” are his first words on the first piece of Blond(e) music released to the public, the music video for “Nikes.” Incidentally, the version of that song that’s actually on the album does not have Ocean saying that. So it seems pretty clear by now the ambiguity is intentional-and of a piece with Ocean’s larger M.O. Wolfgang Tillmans – 'Device Control' Vocals, lyrics, melody by Wolfgang Tillmans Keyboards, harmonies, arrangement and drum programming by Tim Knapp at Trixx Studios, Berlin Intro: all instruments and production by Kyle Combs, New York Live drums by Rosie Slater recorded at Studio G, Brooklyn Additonal arrangement by Kyle Combs, Jay Pluck and Wolfgang Tillmans iPhone voice recording at Keithstrasse, Berlin and book binding machinery recording at Grafica Maiaduoro, Porto by Wolfgang Tillmans Mixed by Alexis Berthelot at Studio G, Brooklyn Mastered by Klaus Knapp at Trixx Studios, Berlin Written and produced by Wolfgang Tillmans, 2016 #frankocean #devicecontrol #timknapp #kylecombs #alexisberthelot #rosieslater #klausknapp #danielwang #salem #j.e.e.p.Joan Didion Was Our Bard of Disenchantment Megan Garber Vinyl release will be Sept 16 as originally planned.
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We will release the new EP digitally in the very next few days. and one by US legends Salem, all of ‘Make It Up As You Go Along’ (The original is out now on vinyl and digital and Spotify – 'Wolfgang Tillmans') and a new vocal piece of mine in two versions called ‘Angered Son’. Thank you everyone involved! The song is on the forthcoming Wolfgang Tillmans ‘Device Control EP’ (Digital release date tomorrow) featuring also two addictive remixes by Berlin’s Daniel Wang & J.E.E.P. Below are the complete production credits. He released my complete original track as the end of this amazing album. Can I sample it for the intro of my album?' I agreed and to my excited surprise this morning he didn't just sample it. Three weeks ago I showed him a few songs, which I had written and produced for myself, and he replied 'Device Control is brilliant.
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#Blonde frank ocean album covwe full#
Enormously proud and happy that Frank Ocean did include my (yet unreleased) track ‘Device Control’ as intro and as a full length ending of his ‘Endless’ album! We were in touch about the intro, but I wouldn’t believe it until it happened.