Hear Frank Ocean’s Serene Cover of ‘Moon River’
Frank Ocean unveiled a serene cover of the pop standard, “Moon River.” The singer posted the track to Tumblr with the note, “in the late night.”
The cover finds Ocean weaving together an array of vocal takes over the steady strumming of a guitar. This hypnotic mix builds slightly towards a subtle but chilling peak as sweeping strings and a bubbly synth line creep into the arrangement.
Composer Henry Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer wrote “Moon River,” which Audrey Hepburn originally sang in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany‘s. The song went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song, as well as Grammys for Song and Record of the Year.
Ocean’s rendition of “Moon River” marks his first piece of new music since releasing “Provider” last August. That track capped off an impressive run of loose singles that also included “Lens,” “Chanel,” and “Biking,” which featured Jay-Z and Tyler, the Creator. He also notched a minor hit as a featured artist on Calvin Harris’ “Slide.” Ocean released his last album, Blonde, in 2016.