THE YEAR OF THE WEEKND.
BY JEAN-ÉTIENNE SHEEHY FOR JUNNNKTANK.COM, FORWARD BY MATT DIXON. DECEMBER 2011.

2011 just has a few hours of life in it. Before it goes we need to acknowledge the dynamite year Toronto's THE WEEKND has had. Who better to share the wealth than our brand new contributor Jean-Étienne Sheehy. We are thrilled to have Jean- Étienne on board. Typically writing in French you can check out Jean-Étienne's rad blog -- 500KHZ --.

Now then, with three killer mixtapes in one year,

no lable support, no worries.

The bold, the visionary, the camera shy...

The Weeknd...

The Weeknd phenomenon is an overstatement in itself. Abel Tesfaye's project is one of the best examples of the total absurdity of the internet culture. His three mixtapes, all released in 2011 as free downloads, received a lot of attention from the cool people, the masses' who is who: Polaris music prize juror, HBO, Lady Gaga and Drake, the rapper responsible for Tesfaye's success. The fans gather around the "XO Till we overdose", a written and nihlistic call to arms. The Weeknd is a pop culture success story even though we know nothing about Tesfaye.

Twenty seven songs have been showcased and it's not enough to disclose the real intentions behind this project. Some believed that "Echoes of Silence", the last piece of the trilogy, would answer all the questions around this artistic delirium. Strangely, we doubt of everything at the end of the mixtape. This might be a good thing as I was a fan of the Weeknd aesthetics before I even downloaded "House of Balloons". This project had its roots in the best DIY fashion. The chapters were released as free mixtapes, the biggest storefront for great music. Tesfaye chose the album format over singles, so this project would be a timeless, specific and precise anthology. The Internet cannot suit the official and refined releases. In this musical industry, choosing protection and branding over content, having a contradictory phenomenon as The Weeknd is necessary, fascinating as it is trivial.

The final overdose, the release of "Echoes of Silence" captured the spirit behind The Weeknd. People have been expecting the third volume during the last months even if no one knew when to start frantically refreshing The Weeknd's website. Serious rumors started circulating a few hours before the album was made available. The launch itself was done following the most boring and out of sight standards. There were no publicity campaigns, nor a physical launch. Even worse: no one really knew when to expect the .zip file and no leaks had found its way around the internet. The only signs available to confirm the release were a couple of blurry tweets by Abel Tesfaye and the well expected link on his official site. The absence of information even tricked some medias who published a fan made album cover with a fake track list.

This whole culture of silence sums up quite well the success behind The Weeknd. Of course, the music is good and its hybrid mix of R&B and electro is hovering and hard-hitting. It's the performance, the lyrics and the general feel that have been catching people's attention since March 2011. "Echoes of Silence" is a great testament of this progression, always reaching for darker tones. Some considered "House of Balloons" as the playlist of a hangover. In that case, we must see this latest release as the soundtrack to a whole year of "the next morning". Not in the dehydration or the headaches, but in the patching of the memories showing up again, the introspection and the questions that comes with it. This sudden sobriety is both brutal and deceiving.

That's "Echoes of Silence"; querrys and romantic findings in the form of a mixtape. The Weeknd is quite the hopeless romantic actually as he sings in a sort of fictionalized French during the chorus of "Montreal". We discover that these songs are in fact landmarks of a colourful love life from the past. That's it: Abel Tesfaye is nothing else than an eternal romantic, the biggest fan of good love songs. He's the ultimate lover, whatever it involves.

"Echoes of Silence" puzzles me. I'll blame that frustration on my surreal expectations after I listened to "House of Balloons" and "Thursday". The untying of the trilogy gives me good reasons to have mixed feelings even though it's the only possible and logical ending to this king of project. Somehow, it reminds me of the last episode of "The Prisoner", when Patrick McGoohan figured out that he was the antagonist and the backdrop.

The Weeknd's three mixtapes are an impressive work, made up of very imposing creations. Tesfaye's young age is not part of the success. He can be well-grounded and mature as he can show signs of doubt and irrationality. For him, The Weeknd is an amazing business card that will drive the rest of his life. For us, music lovers, it's a step towards a new dimension, in music and technology.

The Weeknd's trilogy is available as a free download.

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JUNNNKTANK really came to pass as a way of keeping our valiant editor-in-chief at least somewhat sane in the face of years upon years of university study. For this small town boy, it's a change of pace, a therapeutic medicine, a thirst, a love affair, and utlimately an undeniable passion.

e- MATT AT JUNNNKTANK.COM

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