Based on the image of an enigmatic billboard that appeared this week, Frank Ocean may or may not be on the cusp of a return, either on record or onstage at Coachella. But in the meantime, his music is back in another area: the classical music world.
The Vitamin String Quartet, a long-standing ensemble that’s made a career out of transforming pop, rock, alt rock, and K-pop songs into mini-symphonies, has just released an instrumental version of Ocean’s Channel Orange track “Lost.” Even without a singer, the mournful cover manages to capture the sorrow behind the song’s tale of a drug trafficker and the girlfriend he ensnares in his business.
The remake will be part of the Vitamin String Quartet’s upcoming album, VSQ Performs Frank Ocean. Out April 25, the record will also include similarly overhauled covers of songs from his Blonde and Channel Orange albums, including “Pink + White” (which was released two weeks ago), “Chanel,” “Thinkin Bout You,” and “Novacane.”
“Frank Ocean’s music has had a profound impact on so many lives, and it feels like the perfect moment to release this song,” says group violist Tom Lea in a statement.
The musician isn’t wrong. The quartet’s album is yet another sign of the way Ocean continues to hover over the culture despite not rolling out a new album in nine years. That record, Blonde, has now logged 428 weeks on the Billboard album chart (Channel Orange is now at 224). Ocean also made the news this week: During a Twitch interview, Kanye West disclosed that Ocean attempted to talk West out of voting for Donald Trump in 2016. “Frank Ocean p—y a– come over my house talking about Trump all day and how I shouldn’t support Trump,” West said. “N—a f–k you know about politics and n—a I’m your motherf—ing senior, OG, y’all used to come on tour with me.”
VSQ Performs Frank Ocean isn’t the first time the VSQ has waded into pop waters. Since 1999, the group has released entire albums devoted to orchestral versions of songs by Adele, BTS, Taylor Swift, the Cure, Bjork, Journey, Fall Out Boy, and even Puddle of Mudd. Their covers of Ariana Grande’s “thank you, next” and Nirvana’s “Stay Away” were heard on the Bridgerton soundtrack, and last year the group toured playing classical versions of Swift songs. The group’s tour of the U.S. and Canada starts May 14 and runs through November; at the moment, it’s unclear how much of the set will be devoted to those Ocean covers.
