It’s been two years since we’ve heard from Frank Ocean. Now he’s now posted a new track - Memrise - onto his Tumblr, 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. Hooray for misery!
The follow up to Channel Orange was expected to arrive in 2014, but apart from the odd rumour - not to mention his appearance on Beyonce’s Superpower last year - his second full length studio album is yet to appear. Billboard recently reported that the singer was working with a string of artists such as Happy Perez, Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro, while producers Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins and Danger Mouse are also said to be on board.
Posted with no explanation, the track below - nearly two minutes of distorted, far away vocals and a solitary guitar - is more the sketches of a song, or an interlude rather than his official, triumphant return. Take a listen and let us know what you think.