 Channel Orange ( stylized as channel ORANGE ) is the debut studio album by American recording artist Frank Ocean , released on July 10 , 2012 , by Def Jam Recordings . After releasing his 2011 mixtape Nostalgia , Ultra , Ocean began writing the album with creative partner Malay , who assisted him with its recording at EastWest Studio in Hollywood . Rather than rely on samples as he had with his mixtape , Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on Channel Orange . He titled the album as a reference to the neurological phenomenon grapheme – color synesthesia and the color he perceived during the summer he first fell in love . 
