 According to music journalists , Channel Orange has an unconventional musical style , with influences from psychedelic , pop @-@ soul , jazz @-@ funk , and electro @-@ funk genres . HipHopDX categorized it as an alternative R & B album , while Evan Rytlewski from The A.V. Club called it a neo soul record . Sputnikmusic 's Sobhi Youssef remarked that , although its production " pull [ s ] from a spectrum of popular modern and classic influences " , they are used " within the ' constraints ' of R & B without any singular genre taking over the record . " Songs on the album are characterized by electronic keyboard , muted percussion , fluctuating backing tracks , shifting synthesizers , vamps , vibrant guitar , and hazy electronic effects such as dub reverb . Tiny Mix Tapes wrote that first half 's " spacious " production recalls the " electric soul influence " of Shuggie Otis , while Jody Rosen observed " chord changes straight out of [ Stevie ] Wonder 's Innervisions , airy vamps that nod to [ Marvin ] Gaye 's Here , My Dear , [ and ] snarling guitars that recall Prince 's Purple Rain " . Chris Richards of The Washington Post compared its melodic sensibilities to those of Gaye and Wonder , and its loose song structures to those of D 'Angelo , Maxwell , and Erykah Badu . Time magazine 's Melissa Locker noted melodramatic elements such as " haunting melodies " similar to The @-@ Dream 's 2007 album Love Hate . 
