The Weeknd Talks Working With Daft Punk and Drawing Inspiration From Death of David Bowie

The Weeknd discussed working with Daft Punk on his new album 'Starboy' and finding inspiration from David Bowie's death.

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Complex Original

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Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of The Weeknd's new album Starboy, and the Canadian singer sat down for an interview about it with The Wall Street Journal. Hhe discussed how he drew inspiration from the death of David Bowie when making the album. “I just love Bowie, I think he’s the ultimate inventor,” The Weeknd said, noting that his album title is partially in reference to Bowie's own 1972 song "Starman."

The biggest thing to come out of Starboy so far is its title track in collaboration with Daft Punk, and The Weeknd had a lot to say about working with the legendary electronic duo. “Their studio is like a spaceship, there’s a lot of gear,” he said, “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.”

Interestingly, The Weeknd also said that he was scheduled to get in the studio with Prince before he tragically died of an opioid overdose in April. As the article points out, Prince's last appearance on television was to present The Weeknd with one of his American Music Awards last November.

Starboy is due out in late November, and The Weeknd claims that the project is currently about 90% done. You can read his entire interview with The Wall Street Journal here.

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