In anticipation of his upcoming album Starboy (due November 25), The Weeknd recently sat down with WSJ for an interview to discuss his latest project, during which he revealed that his album was influenced by the passing of two legends: Prince and David Bowie.
"I just love Bowie, I think he's the ultimate inventor," Abel Tesfaye said about Bowie, whom he pays tribute to with his album title (a nod to Bowie's 1972 single "Starman"). He also revealed that just before Prince's untimely passing, Tesfaye was scheduled to go into the Paisley Park studio with The Purple One.
Back in August, The Weeknd and Daft Punk had the internet abuzz with rumors of a collaboration. Now that "Starboy" is just shy of a month old, Tesfaye can finally describe what the experience of working with the prolific duo was like: "Their studio is like a spaceship, there’s a lot of gear, but the way they make music, the way they explain it, is very cinematic. It’s like they’re reading a page out of a novel—'We want to make sure that at the end, it feels like the sun’s coming up, and maybe there’s a car chase.' They can get technical, but it was interesting how they visualize making music."
According to the interview, there will be one additional Daft Punk collaboration featured on Starboy.
The Weeknd announced earlier this week that he will be heading on a massive tour beginning next February with openers Lil Uzi Vert and Bryson Tiller. See the full list of dates here, and read WSJ's entire profile on The Weeknd here.
