12/26/2021

Frank Ocean premieres new music on Christmas episode of blonded RADIO

Frank Ocean returned last night (25 December) with a new edition of his blonded RADIO show. The Christmas episode, dubbed ‘blonded Xmas’, was the first edition of the show in two years.

Announced only a few hours prior to its airing, the surprise edition featured a previously-recorded conversation between Ocean and Wim Hof, aka ‘The Iceman’ – a Dutch motivational speaker and extreme athlete. Ocean also debuted new music during the episode, treating fans to a mellow, almost nine-minute-long track inspired by his conversation with Hof.

In an Instagram story discussing the show, Ocean explained that the pair had talked “some time ago” when he was in the “earlier stages of grief” following the death of his younger brother Ryan Breaux in August 2020. “I remember marvelling at how his energy blasted through the phone,” wrote Ocean. “So much vim in this Wim.” [sic]

“We spoke for a while about his work, the purpose of grief, and how going into the cold water changed his life,” Ocean continued. “It reminded me of conversations in the studio with players I know. Freewheeling, psychedelic, emotionally charged, intelligent, and generous. I enjoyed listening to him, so in this edit I just let him speak uninterrupted. Me, [Cory Henry], and [Dylan Patrice] played some sounds underneath to heighten the feeling. I added some writing at the end that I did a single take of with Cory in the summer of 2020. I came back and added a few words and parts over the top of that take more recently. Felt like it fit the wabi sabi of Wim’s words. Merry Xmas everyone.”[sic]

Ocean’s new song sees the artist rapping over a piano melody. Fans were quick to praise the track, reacting with comments such as, “hearing Frank Ocean rap over a piano is a perfect Christmas gift.”

Listen to the Christmas episode of blonded RADIO here and check out a fan recording of the new song below.