Endless (Frank Ocean album)

Endless
Video album by Frank Ocean
Released August 19, 2016
Recorded 2013–16
Studio
Genre
Length 45:10
Label
Director Frank Ocean
Producer
Frank Ocean chronology
Channel Orange
(2012)		 Endless
(2016)		 Blonde
(2016)

Endless is a video album by American singer Frank Ocean. It was released exclusively through Apple Music on August 19, 2016. It was his last release with his record label Def Jam Recordings to fulfill his recording contract.[3] It was followed by the August 20 release of Ocean's second studio album, Blonde.

Release and promotion

On February 21, 2013, Ocean confirmed that he had started work on his second studio album, which he confirmed would be another concept album. He revealed that he was working with Tyler, The Creator, Pharrell Williams, and Danger Mouse on the record.[4] He later stated that he was being influenced by The Beach Boys and The Beatles. He stated he was interested in collaborating with Tame Impala and King Krule and that he would record part of the album in Bora Bora.[5]

In April 2014, Ocean stated that his second album was nearly finished. In June 2014, Billboard reported that the singer was working with a string of artists such as Happy Perez (whom he worked with on nostalgia, ULTRA), Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro, while producers Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins and Danger Mouse were also said to be on board.[6][7] On November 29, 2014, Ocean released a snippet of a new song supposedly from his upcoming follow-up to channel ORANGE called "Memrise" on his official Tumblr page. The Guardian described the song as: "a song which affirms that despite reportedly changing labels and management, he has maintained both his experimentation and sense of melancholy in the intervening years".[8] On April 6, 2015, Ocean announced that his 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 is rumored to be called Boys Don't Cry, and the album is slated to feature the aforementioned "Memrise".[9][9][10][11]

On July 2, 2016, he hinted at a possible second album with an image on his website pointing to a July release date. The image shows a library card labeled Boys Don't Cry with numerous stamps, implying various due dates. The dates begin with July 2, 2015 and conclude with July 2016 and November 13, 2016. Frank's brother, Ryan Breaux, further suggested this release with an Instagram caption of the same library card photo reading "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY2016".[12] 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.[13]

On August 1, 2016, a video appeared that showed Frank Ocean woodworking and sporadically playing instrumentals on loop.[14] That same day, many news outlets reported that August 5, 2016, could be the release date for Boys Don't Cry.[15][16] 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.[17] It was later confirmed that Endless is a different project than Ocean's second studio album. The original title Boys Don't Cry had been replaced with a new title, which led to the release of Blonde. Endless was his last project with Def Jam Recordings to fulfill his recording contract with them.[3][18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
The A.V. ClubC+[21]
Drowned in Sound9/10[22]
The Guardian[23]
Mojo[24]
Now3/5[25]
Pitchfork7.5/10[26]
Q[27]
Uncut8/10[28]

Endless received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 13 reviews.[19]

In The Guardian, Tim Jonze said Ocean mixed the pop with the avant-garde on Endless, calling it "a rich, varied and – at times – challenging musical feast".[23] Q magazine published a joint review of Endless and Blonde which said "these records might not eclipse Channel Orange, but they have their own mercurial gleam, mapping the spaces between people, reaching for a hazy intimacy that almost feels real."[27] Spin magazine's Brian Josephs was more critical, believing it did not work as an album. "As a whole, Endless feels formless", Josephs wrote, "like pretty, curlicue-flaunting cursive with no adherence to notebook margins".[29]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Device Control (Intro)"  Wolfgang Tillmans 0:23
2. "(At Your Best) You Are Love"  
 5:20
3. "Alabama"  Ocean 1:56
4. "Mine"  Ocean 1:56
5. "U-N-I-T-Y"  Ocean 0:56
6. "Ambience 001: In a Certain Way"    0:11
7. "Comme des Garçons"  Ocean 0:58
8. "Ambience 002: Honeybaby"  
 0:40
9. "Wither"  Ocean 2:33
10. "Hublots"  
 0:17
11. "In Here Somewhere"  
  • Ocean
  • Troy Noka
  • Joe Thornalley
 3:15
12. "Slide on Me"  Ocean 3:08
13. "Sideways"  Ocean 1:50
14. "Florida"  Ocean 1:19
15. "Deathwish (ASR)"  
  • Ocean
  • Noka
  • Thornalley
 1:53
16. "Rushes"  
 5:34
17. "Rushes To"  
 3:42
18. "Higgs / Device Control (Outro)"  
  • Ocean
  • Tillmans
 9:19
Total length:
 45:10

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Film

  • Brandon Chavez – colorist
  • Keith Ferreira – 1st AC
  • Taj Francois – assistant editor/DIT
  • Henri Helander – wardrobe assistant
  • Maarten Hofmeijer – sound designer
  • Brent Kiser – sound designer
  • Grant Lau – VFX
  • Caleb Laven – sound mixer
  • Thomas Mastorakos – production designer
  • Wendi Morris – producer
  • Frank Ocean – director
  • Paper Mache Monkey – art department
  • Francis Soriano – director of photography, editor
  • TMG – set construction
  • Rita Zebdi – wardrobe

Music

  • Alex G – guitars (tracks 9, 12, 16, 18)
  • Arca – programming (track 4)
  • James Blake – synthesizers (track 2)
  • Christophe Chassol – piano (track 5)
  • Kyle Combs – synthesizers (track 1), drum programming (track 1)
  • Mike Dean – mastering
  • Michel Egger – graphic design
  • Tom Elmhirst – mix engineer
  • Frank Dukes – production (track 5) [30]
  • Noah Goldstein –mix engineer
  • Jonny Greenwood – string orchestration (track 2)
  • Austin Hollows; guitars (track 18)
  • Om'Mas Keith – piano (track 2)
  • Tim Knapp – synthesizers (track 1), drum programming (track 1)
  • Caleb Laven – recording engineer
  • London Contemporary Orchestra – orchestra credits (track 2)
  • Thomas Mastorakos – creative direction, photography
  • Kevin McCaughey – graphic design
  • Noh Life – drum programming (track 13)
  • Troy Noka – production, synthesizers (track 11), programming (tracks 15, 17), drum programming (tracks 7, 11)
  • Frank Ocean – lead artist, executive producer, production, creative direction, guitars (track 17), piano (tracks 3, 9, 10), additional programming (tracks 11, 15)
  • Caius Pawson – A&R
  • Ben Reed – bass (tracks 7, 9, 13, 16)
  • Buddy Ross – synthesizers (tracks 7, 12, 13), bass (track 14)
  • Sampha – additional vocals (track 3)
  • Sebastian – programming (tracks 16, 18), additional programming (track 12)
  • Rosie Slater – drums (track 1)
  • Spaceman – guitars (tracks 11, 15, 16)
  • Stwo – production (track 5)
  • Graeme Stewart – engineer (track 2)
  • Jazmine Sullivan – vocals (track 10), additional vocals (track 3), background vocals (tracks 9, 16)
  • Joe Thornalley – production, bass (track 12), programming (tracks 15, 17), drum programming (tracks 7, 11-13)
  • Michael Uzowuru – production, programming (track 17)
  • Joe Visciano – assistant mix engineer
  • Rita Zebdi – additional vocals (track 7)

References

  1. ↑ Earls, John. "Universal Music to ban streaming exclusives after Frank Ocean 'duped' them". New Musical Express. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Pulido, Izzy. "FRANK OCEAN BANGS OUT 'BLONDE,' 'ENDLESS,' AND 'NIKES' ALL IN ONE WEEKEND". Anyarena. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "After Releasing Endless Through Def Jam, Frank Ocean Went Independent With Blonde". 23 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Frank Ocean's Next Album Is On Its Way!". PerezHilton.com. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  5. ↑ "Frank Ocean 'Like 10, 11 Songs' Into New Album". Rolling Stone. February 20, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Memrise by Frank Ocean". dindindara.
  7. ↑ Hampp, Andrew (September 15, 2014). "Frank Ocean Signs to New Management With Three Six Zero". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Listen to Frank Ocean's new track Memrise". The Guardian. November 28, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Byford, Sam (April 7, 2015). "Frank Ocean's next album is coming in July". The Verge. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ Beauchemin, Molly (April 6, 2015). "Frank Ocean Announces New Record". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ "New Frank Ocean album due in July". The Guardian. April 7, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ Ivie, Devon (July 2, 2016). "Frank Ocean Teases Boys Don't Cry July Release Date". Vulture.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (August 1, 2016). "Frank Ocean Launches Mysterious Live Stream". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Frank Ocean".
  15. ↑ "Frank Ocean's Long-Awaited 'Boys Don't Cry' Is Due on Friday - NYTimes.com".
  16. ↑ "Frank Ocean to Release New Album 'Boys Don't Cry' This Week".
  17. ↑ "Frank Ocean Releases "Visual Album" Endless: Watch - Pitchfork Media".
  18. ↑ "Frank Ocean Unveils Contemplative 'Endless' Visual Album Stream".
  19. 1 2 "Endless Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  20. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Endless – Frank Ocean". AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ Caffrey, Dan (August 24, 2016). "Both of Frank Ocean's new albums are more singular than you think". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ Hanratty, Dave. "Album Review: Frank Ocean". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  23. 1 2 Jonze, Tim (August 19, 2012). "Frank Ocean: Endless first-listen review – brilliantly confounding". The Guardian. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  24. ↑ Cowan, Andy (August 24, 2016). "Mojo Album of The Week". Mojo. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  25. ↑ Ritchie, Kevin (August 22, 2016). "Album of the week: Frank Ocean mulls over mortality with two albums". Now. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  26. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (August 24, 2016). "Frank Ocean: Blonde / Endless". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  27. 1 2 Anon. (November 2016). "Reviews". Q. p. 112.
  28. ↑ Anon. (November 2016). "Reviews". Uncut. p. 24.
  29. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew; Iandoli, Kathy; Pearce, Sheldon; Pagnani, Renato; Josephs, Brian (August 19, 2016). "Frank Ocean's 'Endless': SPIN's Impulsive Reviews". Spin. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Frank Dukes And Stwo Might Be Uncredited Producers On Frank Ocean's "U-N-I-T-Y"". The Fader. August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
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