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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Weeknd - House Of Balloons

I know things have been kind of slow lately, too be honest there is not much to post about right now. One thing I and it seems you too can't wait for is the new M83, but there have been no news since my last post. I will keep updating it though.
So here's something different, an album I've been listening to a lot in the last couple of weeks. A lot of you probably won't like it, but I don't care :D

The Weeknd is R&B singer Abel Tesfaye(the fellow pictured above) and "House Of Balloons" is his first release, a mixtape you can download for free here.
I'm not a big R&B fan, I don't like it if someone is whining all the way through a song, trying to be "really" expressive. Somehow though I like how this guy is doing it, he has some pretty good and even funny lyrics, he doesn't try to pack everything he says into beautiful words, he doesn't have a problem with the word "fuck" for example or singing about betraying one's girlfriend. He's just honest and it comes a long way in a music industry where everything is kind of recycled melodies with lyrics that just have to sound good, no meaning behind it. The shit that comes to my mind first is stuff like the Black Eyed Peas. It's beyond me how so many people really buy into this bullshit excuse for music just to make some quick bucks.
But happily "House Of Balloons" is different.
Yes, I also had to get used to his way of singing but a lot of things on this mixtape made it easier for me and made me come back to this. The production is one of those things. Every song is really right to the gut, some are just so epic you can't help yourself but get lost in the music and eventually in the beautiful voice of this guy. This guy can sing, forget all the autotune infested scheiss you here in almost every song now ("808's and Heartbreak" rules though, you just have to use autotune in the right way, if you can't sing don't try to hide it though). I like how the only two songs from Beach House, that I really love are sampled here and generally the production is better than on most of the mainstream albums nowadays and don't forget that this is free to download for everyone.
I'm sure if you give this one a chance it will stay with you for some time. I hope this guy kicks some serious butts and won't become corrupted by the mainstream. Make music that is personal to you, that you would like to listen to and it's gonna be fine. It seems that this mixtape is part of a trilogy, the other releases are called "Thursday" and "Echoes Of Silence". I can't wait for those!
Here's a sample track for you(one of my favorites off the mixtape):
The Weeknd - Wicked Games:


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