Frank Ocean Takes Inspiration from Beatles, Beach Boys on New Album

For channel ORANGE, Frank Ocean studied R&B legends including Stevie Wonder. Now the Odd Future singer is soaking up inspiration from ’60s bands including The Beatles and Beach Boys for his next album.

While being honored as one of TIME‘s 100 Most Influential People in the World earlier this week, Ocean shed some light on the sequel to his Grammy-winning album.

“When I was making the first [album] there were a group of artists that I listened to, just for inspiration and to absorb the energies,” he told MTV News. “It was a lot of Stevie Wonder, and this time it’s a lot of Beach Boys and Beatles and whatnot, so we’ll see how it trickles into the music and the final product. I can’t say much other than that.”

In an interview with BBC Radio 1 in February, he revealed that he was 10-11 songs into the project. He was planning a trip to the island of Bora Bora to record more.

He hinted at the direction. “At the end of channel ORANGE, there’s ‘Golden Girl’ and it’s this beach scene, and I kind of want to extend that feel into the next record all together, kinda make it that theme,” he said.

In between hanging out with Justin Timberlake and Vice President Joe Biden, Ocean is eyeing a tour for later this year.