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Frank Ocean has revealed that he always intended to release his 'Channel Orange' album a week early online, saying it was an anti-piracy tip he learned from Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Ocean surprised fans on Monday when he put the album online for people to stream as well as purchase on iTunes. A physical release will follow on Monday, July 16th.
Speaking to Radio 1's Zane Lowe about this move, Ocean admitted that it was planned all along. "It was actually the plan all along. I kinda wanted to mirror what Jay and Kanye did with Watch the Throne, preventing the leak by staggering digital and physical dates," Ocean told the DJ. "I wanted all the promotional elements to follow the album, with the videos and the tour, and do everything after and let the music speak for itself.”
Meanwhile, discussing why he recruited so few guest stars for the album, Ocean said that he wanted 'Channel Orange' to be as much about him as possible.
“It was important for me to do the project with a limited amount of people and I got the opportunity, which I value so greatly, to sit with some of my creative heroes and play them the songs in different stages of completion and get input and get feedback. I tried to make something that was true to what I heard in my head and true to what I thought the future should be for me music-wise.”
'Channel Orange' has become involved in an unsavoury row with US retail store Target, who have refused to stock the eagerly anticipated album.
