With After Hours, the story did not begin with one isolated hit. The Weeknd built an entire character around the record: red suit, black tie, sunglasses and later an increasingly battered face.
That alter ego appeared in music videos, television performances and award shows. The music and the visuals deliberately flowed into one another. Las Vegas, neon lights, recklessness and loneliness became parts of the same story.
An album as a late-night film
In the studio, the album was also built layer by layer. Producer Illangelo later explained how tracks such as After Hours and Faith were developed further from existing demos and rearranged. At the same time, Max Martin brought the enormous pop force of Blinding Lights and Save Your Tears.
What is remarkable is that despite all those producers, the record remains one coherent world. The synths look back to the 1980s, but the central character is thoroughly modern: successful, lost and constantly on the way to the next bad decision.
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