This Frank Ocean and Tame Impala Mash-Up Album Works Way Too Well
A solid placeholder for an IRL collaboration between the notoriously enigmatic artists.
If you’ve ever wondered what Frank Ocean singing over Tame Impala production might sound like, your day has come.
The latest mash-up no one asked for that will nonetheless garner a number of rotations out of sheer curiosity is a blend of Ocean’s surprise 2016 album, Blond(e)d, and the Australian band’s 2015 outing, Currents. Uploaded by a Youtuber with a damn good ear for melancholic psychedelia, the very logically titled Blonded Currents mash-up stitches Ocean’s tender a cappellas into the tripped-out disco of Kevin Parker‘s tertiary triumph.
The project opens with Ocean’s “Be Yourself” interlude before launching into warp speed. The driving synth attack of “Let It Happen” picks up the pace on “Solo,” the four-to-the-floor stomp of “The Less I Know The Better” shakes the balladry off of “Ivy,” and the slow-burn of “Eventually” provides a muscular, yet warbled, backdrop for Ocean’s stream-of-mindfulness raps on “Nights.” All of it is presented in a tightly-edited visual mash-up that splices together footage from a Tame Impala concert with scenes from Ocean’s 2017 appearance at Panorama Festival.
All in all, it’s a pretty entrancing placeholder for an IRL collaboration between the enigmatic artists, who have never officially linked in the studio to anyone’s knowledge. The closest Parker and Ocean have come to sharing space on a record was Travis Scott‘s 2018 album, Astroworld, which featured contributions from the former on “Skeletons” and the latter on “Carousel.” But who knows. Maybe this strangely fitting blend will manifest something more
Until then, you can hear Frank Ocean and Tame Impala meet in the mash-up multiverse below. Scroll on to see the project’s full tracklist and download a copy here.
Blonded Currents Tracklist:
0:00 – Intro
0:49 – Let It Solo
4:58 – The Less Ivy The Better
8:23 – Skyline Disciples
9:54 – Yes I’m Self Controling
13:29 – Nangs Reprise
14:51 – Nikes Life
19:27 – Eventually Nights
24:33 – New Seigfried, Same Old Mistakes
26:21 – Ferrari Paranoia
29:10 – Godspeed In Motion