THE LONG-awaited DHL marks Ocean’s first new original music since his 2017 Provider.
The musician premiered the song, which he co-produced with Boys Noize, on the first episode of his Blonded Radio show in over two years.
DHL was made available on streaming platforms following the broadcast, along with the accompanying cover art that depicts a man sitting on a chair with his head hidden in a bag.
Several fans have noticed that the picture also features 13 small silhouettes, which leads them to believe that DHL will soon be followed by 12 additional songs.
Although the single marks Ocean’s first new original material in over two years, the award-winning vocalist appears to have dropped hints about the release in the past.
Ocean first mentioned the international shipping service in an Instagram post dating from August 2017, with the caption “If I ever bought a plane.”
As Rolling Stone pointed out, he later unveiled a 15-second snippet of DHL in an Instagram story on December 2018.
DHL arrived a few days after Ocean debuted excerpts of Dear April (Justice Remix) and Cayendo (Sango Remix) during his PrEP + club night on October 17.
While they are not yet available on streaming services, both songs are sold on his website as 12” vinyl singles.
In a recent interview with W Magazine, Ocean opened up about the creative process behind the highly anticipated follow-up to his 2016 Blonde, which will arrive at a yet-unknown date.
“I’ve been interested in club, and the many different iterations of nightlife for music and songs. And so the things I look at now have a lot to do with those scenes: Detroit, Chicago, techno, house, French electronic ...” he said.
Before adding: “I grew up in New Orleans, so the closest to the nightlife scene for me was New Orleans bounce, and that was a lot of trends. But it’s so much a part of my childhood and my youth that I don’t really go back to it so much as a touch point. I’m really looking forward. It’s kind of a mix for me.” - AFP
