The music universe was left shaking in 2011 after the sudden appearance of one certain Abel Tesfaye, or The Weeknd. The young Canadian burst into the scene with three mixtapes released in quick succession (March, August and December), so innovative and sharp that, together with Frank Ocean's great debut mixtape, "nostalgia, ULTRA", they absolutely shaped how future R&B would sound (Kanye West contribution with "808s & Heartbreak" can't be dismissed as well).
House of Balloons was the first release by Tesfaye and I was paying enough attention at the time to listen to it not long after. The world of R&B had never interested me in the least, but this was really different from what I was used to. I loved the production in the title track (by Doc Mckinney and Illangelo, as most of the mixtape) on the first listen, and so I explored the other songs and it turned out they were just as good (with some wonderful, expertly used samples by Beach House here and there). The general pace is relatively languid, with no urgency coming from the drum loops, no hurry to get to the end. The lyrics mostly deal with the usual themes of drugs and sex, but in abnormally explicit terms and a non-celebratory manner, his sensible delivery being essential to get the intended meaning (in The Knowing, for example).
The hype was huge, the critical response absolutely ecstatic. And rightly so. After those first three releases though, The Weeknd decided to take a more commercial approach to music, unfortunate for creative reasons but undoubtedly great for his bank statement.
House of Balloons was the first release by Tesfaye and I was paying enough attention at the time to listen to it not long after. The world of R&B had never interested me in the least, but this was really different from what I was used to. I loved the production in the title track (by Doc Mckinney and Illangelo, as most of the mixtape) on the first listen, and so I explored the other songs and it turned out they were just as good (with some wonderful, expertly used samples by Beach House here and there). The general pace is relatively languid, with no urgency coming from the drum loops, no hurry to get to the end. The lyrics mostly deal with the usual themes of drugs and sex, but in abnormally explicit terms and a non-celebratory manner, his sensible delivery being essential to get the intended meaning (in The Knowing, for example).
The hype was huge, the critical response absolutely ecstatic. And rightly so. After those first three releases though, The Weeknd decided to take a more commercial approach to music, unfortunate for creative reasons but undoubtedly great for his bank statement.
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