Buddy Ross has been Frank Ocean’s touring keyboardist since 2012, the same year he backed up Ocean on “Saturday Night Live.” When Ocean recently released his Endless visual album, Ross was credited for synths on four tracks (“Commes Des Garcons,” “Slide on Me,” “Sideways,” and“Florida”). Ross is also listed in the credits for Ocean’s self-released new album Blonde. While song-by-song credits have yet to be published, and Ross was hesitant to go into too many specifics about his Blonde role, he told Pitchfork he played the piano intro on “Godspeed,” the synth on the first half of “Nights” before the big change, the synth pad on the first half of “White Ferrari,” all the repeating interlude music, and the musical elements of “Close to U.”
A former member of Seattle band Motopony, Ross is signed to Ariel Rechtshaid’s Heavy Duty Music Publishing, and he said he has been doing work these days for Haim, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Kelela. Ross chatted with Pitchfork today over the phone about auditioning for the job on YouTube, how Ocean’s mysterious creative process resembles collage art, and that time Ocean almost played “SNL” with no backing band other than John Mayer.
Pitchfork: How did you first get involved with Frank?
Buddy Ross: I was in this band Motopony that I had produced. We were touring a lot back then and we had a sound guy, like, tour manager that started running monitors for Frank just before Channel Orange came out. He was in a rehearsal and they had mentioned they were looking for a keyboard player. So he had me send a video right then. I had my roommate film me in my basement playing my keys and I uploaded it to YouTube and sent it to him. And then they ended up flying me down just like a week later—the day before Channel Orange came out, like a week before the tour started.
We were just wrapping up recording Motopony’s second record that never really came out. But then I flew down and had to learn all the songs in like 24 hours before the first rehearsal. We played the first show just like five days later. But I had no idea who he was at the time. I got down there and learned the songs, and then he dropped the album.
How did it get from there to your playing on Endless and Blonde?
We toured a bunch. During soundchecks I’d always just start messing around and coming up with new little ideas, playing on the synths. He would come out and just start freestyling over stuff. I think that’s when we started first vibing together, just onstage during soundcheck. That was 2012, and then in 2013 we did a big European festival tour. After that ended, a week later I thought I was going to be home for a while and then I got a call that he wanted to meet in the studio—like a week after we got off the road. I guess those moments during soundcheck just stuck with him and he wanted to bring me in. He was super cool.
What can you tell me about your role on these projects?
I played on a bunch of the Endless stuff. I was there a lot of this year working on that. Honestly, Frank’s such a—he has this vision that no one else really is privy to. A lot of times you don’t even know what you’re working on. He just puts blinds on everybody and sends them off in their own space to just do whatever they want.
It’s been a four-year process. I think there has been stuff that maybe for some things that ended up on other things. I’m such a big fan, and I had no idea what I was going to be on until the record came out. So more than anybody, I was just waiting and anticipating the release of this so much. I knew I was hopefully going to be a part of it, but I was also just excited to hear all the little bits and pieces I had heard over the years finally come together.
When did you think it was going to actually come out?
I kind of gave up on ever holding onto anything, because I just knew that it was out of my control. I knew that when it did it would be a sweet surprise. I had no clue.
On Endless, he broke down the credits song by song, but can you discuss what you played on Blonde?
There’s one thing I did the first day I was in with him back in 2013. That was so long ago, but then hearing the record when it came out, he uses that repeating theme through all the interludes and closing out the record—like, under “Be Yourself” and “Facebook Story.” I almost forgot I had given that to him and it ended up being a recurring theme, which is super cool. Just to hear it on the day it came out, being in there.
I played on a bunch of the songs. There are just so many different versions I heard over the years. “Close to U” was something I worked on with Joe Thornalley, who goes by Vegyn. That’s something we worked on this year. I worked on “White Ferrari.” I don’t know how much of my stuff is on all that. I don’t really want to talk about all the different songs right now.
But it’s fair to say you were on a lot of the record. Did you not really hear full songs until the album?
No, I don’t think he wanted to let people have full context. He’s like a collage artist in a way. We were all these bits and pieces that he’d send off to do our thing on. But we’d never see him putting it together.
Is there anything more you can say about the process of working on the album? It sounds like it’s kind of mysterious.
It’s super mysterious! I’ve been recording for a long time and producing records to completion, but working with him, it’s like, a lot of times I get on the section of a song that he’d want me to work on, and then I’d do maybe one pass, and then he would have me move on to something else. I never felt like I really got my head around it. That’s what he would end up using. There’s this vision he has that you can’t really see yourself, but I learned to just trust his ear. And if he felt satisfied, then I just learned to be OK with that.
It’s interesting that it’s as mysterious for somebody actually playing on it as it is for the rest of us.
Yeah, it is [laughs]. I watched his subreddit. I feel like all his fans. He’s very mysterious. It’s rad to be part of something that’s so fresh and I almost feel disconnected from it in a way, because I’ve never been a part of something where I was brought in for a couple of hours to try some things and then leave and have no idea—to not remember what I even played on.
Do you know if there’s going to be a wider release of the magazine?
I saw his mom’s Instagram or something. That’s literally—I’m on the same level as all the fans out there, just waiting. I tried to get a magazine. I went to the pop-up shop and there were like 3,000 people in L.A. around the block and I couldn’t even get one.
If he does any touring or anything like that, are you still part of the live band?
Yeah, if he has a band, I’m sure I’ll be asked to be in the band. I don’t know what his plans are but if he wants a keyboard player I’m sure that I’m the dude. Because I’ve been the dude. But who knows.
Any reminiscences about when you were on “Saturday Night Live”?
Yeah, I mean, I was stuck behind John Mayer the whole time [laughs]. But yeah, “Saturday Night Live” was awesome. [Frank’s] so creative that—we were rehearsing with John Mayer as the full band, and we would run through the songs, and then we’d stop the song and then John Mayer would keep just noodling on the chords. And then Frank would be really inspired by that and start vibing on just the guitar. The band almost didn’t play. He almost just went with him and John Mayer, because he just gets so inspired by new things. Luckily, John Mayer told him you need to bring the band back, because it’s just so much better and fuller. So he did. Thanks, John, for that.
Did you get to talk to any of the “SNL” cast members?
Yeah, yeah, there was an after party. And I just mingled with Fred Armisen, and who was the guy who did “Gangnam Style”? Psy. I high-fived him during the credits but I had no idea who he was.
You do tons of other stuff. Can we talk about what you’re doing with UMO?
We’re going to write this month. I’m going to Portland next week. We’re just going to get together for a couple of weeks and see what happens. It could be stuff for the new UMO or who knows, some new stuff. But I’m super excited about that. I’m a huge fan of theirs. The way I met Ruban [Nielson] was I knew Jake [Portrait], the bass player, in Portland, and we ran into them in the Melbourne airport after a festival out there. We were waiting in line for security and Ruban told me he was a huge Frank Ocean fan. And then Frank hit me up asking if I knew any guitar players for a session, so I tweeted at Ruban, just hoping he would—basically I was trying to use Frank to get Ruban to like me, because I’m just such a huge fan. We’ve already done a few things together over the years.
What other projects are you involved with?
I moved to L.A. in December, signed with Ariel Rechtshaid’s publishing company, and I’ve been working a lot with him really closely. I’ve worked on the new Haim. He’s always passing me stuff. I did a little on Kelela’s new thing—I don’t know if what I did will make it on there. He’s always just sending me stuff, so that’s just a really cool crew to be part of.
Do you talk to Frank at all personally, or hang out together outside of the studio?
Not really. I text him sometimes. I just told him how proud I was of the record, for him.
via Marc Hogan
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