New music from The Weeknd is imminently arriving and after hearing a teaser of his next release, speculation is abound it might just be a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia.
Fans know that Swedish House Mafia are arguably the most cryptic musicians in the business, but this time the teaser that might indicate their next release has come from The Weeknd himself. The “Blinding Lights” artist recently posted a clip of a molten sun beaming over a shadowy landscape as a synthwave-inspired production plays in the background.
There’s a confluence of factors fueling the rumors of a new collab. First, from a musical perspective, the style of the production falls within the trio’s wheelhouse after their last release, the downtempo “Lifetime” with Ty Dolla $ign and 070 Shake.
Considering The Weeknd’s perspective, a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia aligns well with what we know so far about his upcoming album. GQ had an early listen of the record during their September 2021 cover interview with him and described it as “packed with party records.”
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“Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-fucking-life party records,” The Weeknd said of the album. “Not anachronistic disco stuff. That sort of retro thing is having a moment right now in pop music, but these records are new. Sweaty. Hard.”
Underpinning these musical factors is the fact that The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia share the same manager, Sal Slaiby. The trio’s break from their label and former manager in April seems to have been the development that finally cleared the path for them to release new music. For those that underestimate the influence this relationship plays in the creative process, we need point no further than “Lifetime,” as Slaiby also manages Ty Dolla $ign.
It could also be possible that the production was handled by synthwave legend Kavinsky, who recently announced he’s working on his first album in eight years. But we’ll table that theory for now.
Despite a mounting pile of evidence, we might have to wait until release day for definitive proof. The Weeknd’s next single drops on August 6th, 2021.
