Device Control

Album: Endless (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • Frank Ocean bookends his Endless video album with an art piece by Wolfgang Tillmans from the German photographer's Device Control EP'. Endless starts with a very short sample of a robotic voice with a German accent, saying "With this Apple appliance, you can capture live videos." Tillmans then returns at the end of the record with some press releases about smartphones read by the same Germanic robot voice.
  • Tillmans explained to Pitchfork that Ocean originally got in touch with him about using one of his photos on his album. The German photographer continued: "Whilst chatting I mentioned my recent musical activities, and he was interested in listening to some. I sent him two spoken-word pieces, two pop songs I've written with my band Fragile this year, and the solo dance track 'Device Control', which I had written in April and worked on with Tim Knapp in Berlin and Kyle Combs in New York."
  • Asked why Ocean gravitated to "Device Control" specifically, Tillmans replied: "All communication is very brief unless on the phone. He wrote, 'Device Control is brilliant. Love,' and later a one-liner [asking] if he could use 15 seconds for the intro of the album, it would be perfect for it. I'm thrilled that it now ends the album also in my full original 7-minute, 30-second version."

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