Endless (Frank Ocean album)
Endless is a visual album by American singer Frank Ocean. It was released on August 19, 2016, as an exclusive streaming-only video on Apple Music, and preceded the August 20 release of Ocean's second studio album Blonde. Endless was later remastered and had a limited reissue in physical audio and visual formats on November 27, 2017.[4]
Endless
August 19, 2016
2013–2016
- Capitol, Hollywood
- The Mercer Hotel, SoHo
- MSR, New York City
- Abbey Road, London
- Conway, Hollywood
- Shangri La, Miami
- Wolfgang Tillmans' home, Berlin
- TRIXX, Berlin
- Studio G, Brooklyn
- EastWest, Hollywood
- Setai, South Beach
- Hotel Bel-Air, Bel Air
45:55
- Fresh Produce
- Def Jam
Frank Ocean
- Frank Ocean
- Vegyn
- Troy Noka
- Michael Uzowuru
- Arca
- Frank Dukes
- Stwo
- 88-Keys
The album followed a period of controversy for Ocean, who was in a highly publicized battle with Def Jam Recordings, and it was the subject of widespread media discussion upon release. Endless was recorded in various studios across California, as well as in London, Miami, and Berlin, with production handled primarily by Ocean, Vegyn, Michael Uzowuru, and Troy Noka; Ocean previously collaborated with Noka on his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra (2011).
The film follows Ocean silently woodworking on a staircase while the audio plays. Music journalists have noted the album features a minimalist aesthetic with a loose musical structure and contains similar elements featured on Blonde, including ambient pop, avant-soul, R&B, and trap. Thematically, Endless explores Ocean's status as a celebrity, love and heartbreak, and age. It also contains uncredited guest appearances from Sampha and Jazmine Sullivan.
Endless received generally positive reception, with critics praising the musical content, namely its abstract structural compositions, although some were divided over the visual aspects, noting its length. Upon its re-release, it was positively reassessed, with praise directed toward its variety and since become a cult favorite among Ocean's discography.
Background[edit]
On February 21, 2013, Ocean confirmed work began for his second studio album, including tentative collaborations with Tyler, the Creator, Pharrell Williams, and Danger Mouse. Ocean also revealed it would be another concept album,[5] and he was drawing influence from the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Ocean expressed an interest in collaborating with Tame Impala and stated an intention to record in Bora Bora.[6] He also stated a desire to collaborate with Archy Marshall, better known as King Krule; however, Marshall stated in an interview with Pitchfork that the collaboration was not successful, saying: "Frank was at my house, yeah... He came down and he wanted me to do something for his record, but I don't think he liked it."[7]
In April 2014, Ocean stated his second album was nearly finished, and in June, Billboard reported the singer was working with Happy Perez, Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro (whom he worked with on Nostalgia, Ultra), alongside Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins, and Danger Mouse.[8][9] On November 29, 2014, Ocean released a snippet to "Memrise", a song rumored as the lead single from his new album, on Tumblr. The snippet received generally positive reception, with critics praising Ocean's musical experimentation and continued exploration of melancholic themes.[10]
On January 16, 2015, Ocean posted a cover of "(At Your Best) You Are Love" on Tumblr as a tribute to Aaliyah. On April 6, Ocean announced the follow-up to Channel Orange would be released in July, as well as a publication, although no further details were released. The album was ultimately not released in July, with no explanation given for its delay. The publication was rumored to be called Boys Don't Cry, and was slated to feature "Memrise".[11][12][13]
Release and promotion[edit]
On July 2, 2016, he hinted at a possible second album on his website. It featured an image of a library card labeled "Boys Don't Cry" with numerous stamps, implying various due dates between July 2015 and November 2016. Ocean's brother, Ryan Breaux, further suggested a release in July 2016, with an Instagram caption of the image reading "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY2016".[14] On August 1, 2016, a live video hosted by Apple Music showing an empty hall was launched on the website boysdontcry.co. The website also featured a new "boysdontcry" graphic. The video marked the first update on the website since a "date due" post from July.[15]
On August 1, 2016, a video appeared that showed Frank Ocean woodworking and sporadically playing instrumentals on loop.[16] That same day, many news outlets reported that August 5, 2016, could be the release date for Boys Don't Cry.[17][18] The video was revealed to be promotion for Endless, a 45-minute-long visual album that began streaming on Apple Music on August 19, 2016.[19] It was later confirmed that Endless is a different project than Ocean's second studio album. The assumed title Boys Don't Cry had been replaced with a new title. Endless was his final album with Def Jam Recordings, which fulfilled his recording contract.[20][21]
On April 24, 2017, Ocean aired a remix of "Slide on Me" featuring Young Thug on his radio show Blonded Radio. On November 27, on Cyber Monday, Ocean released physical, remastered editions of Endless, along with new merchandise.[22]
Notes
Sample credits