As the mystery of Frank Ocean’s new album continues to grow — an understatement for diehard fans, who’ve been impatiently waiting — James Blake has arrived with an update on the AWOL singer.
Ocean appeared on Blake’s latest album, The Colour In Anything, and in an interview with Rolling Stone this week, the singer praised Ocean’s work, stating his music had a “huge influence” on the writing of the record. “His music was a huge influence on the way I was writing the record, the way I was writing melodies,” said Blake. While Channel Orange is the project that had everyone talking about Ocean, Blake says the new material is what struck his attention. “I was more of a fan of him when I heard his newer music,” he noted.
This isn’t the first time that Blake has referenced Ocean’s new music. In an interview with The Guardian earlier this month, Blake, who also worked on Beyoncé’s Lemonade LP, revealed that he’s been writing “extensively” for Frank Ocean’s forthcoming LP.
Without getting into details, Blake told RS the new record is ” better.”
“You grow, you improve, you nail a new message to the board,” he shared. “He’s had time to mature. It’s really cool to watch.”
Time will tell when fans will finally get to hear this “really cool to watch” transition for Ocean, however in the meantime Blake’s Colour In Anything is a good audible entrée. The album received general acclaim and scored a music video for the standout track “I Need A Forest Fire.”
Check out more from James Blake’s interview with RS, here.