Introducing: The Weeknd – Skewed R&B FTW!

R&B is not my usual bag around here but there’s something intriguing about The Weeknd that makes we want to explore more. It’s R&B but skewed beyond in focus and genre. Not much is known about the Toronto act but we do know that Jeremy Rose produces and Abel Tesfaye sings on the The Weeknd’s 9-track mixtape House of Balloons (available for free) . Drake’s producer Noah Shebib may be involved to some degree but at the very least himself and Drake are certainly encouraging the duo.

It’s unusual for R&B to let the music do the talking rather than the visual and The Weeknd has been doing that superbly. The source material is off-kilter for the genre too with Siouxsie and the Banshees and Beach House samples used to make interesting new shapes. It’s like How To Dress Well but made by actual R&B heads.

‘House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls’ samples ‘Happy House’ by Siouxsie and the Banshees:

This tune samples Beach House:
The Weeknd – The Party & The After Party

You can listen to the whole mixtape apart from the best tune ‘House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls’ which they didn’t upload onto Soundcloud for some reason.

The Weeknd – House Of Balloons by The_Weeknd

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Artists

The Weeknd

Niall Byrne

Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.