bring the drugs, baby, i can bring my pain

     

Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd, has had quite a year, but my guess is that this has been nothing compared to the possibilites and expectations of coming year. This past spring, Abel committed to releasing, not only one, but three albums for free over the span of 2011, titled 'House of Balloons', 'Thursday' and 'Echoes of Silence' in chronological order.  All of the three mixtapes has been self-released, and every release has exceeded the former in terms of "buzz/hype", especially with 'Thursday' featuring the track 'The Zone', that included a guest appearance by Drake, who has played an important role in getting The Weeknd out in the public. To have been able to tour at all with a schedule like this, along with being starred in Drake's new album, 'Take Care', remixing tracks for Lady Gaga and Florence and the Machine, is a performance in itself. 

The first album of the three, 'House of Balloons', came out of nowhere, and exploded out in the public soon after release. It contains an overpoweringly fresh take on what has come to be the r'n'b genre, and manages to captivate the listener in an atmosphere of describing depression and over-indulgence, and the incredibly lush and nocturnal feel can only be likened to that of what the 'the xx' did to the pop genre two years ago. The nine songs featured in the release manages to be both beautiful and enthralling, while at the same time being deeply disturbing and unsafe. This is an incredibly close-to-heart production, no doubt about it, and what's even more clear; someone hurt mah bro'. bad.

the third greatest album of 2011 is 

The Weeknd - House of Balloons

best track - 'the party & the after party'

below you will find the five greatest mashups of this year, in a particular order:

Daft Punk x Ellie Goulding - 'Something About Us Under The Sheets'

       

and here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the mashup of the year. words can't describe my love for this. the groovy, sexy blend of ellie goulding's voice and daft punk's seducing composition just gets me going. listening to this gave me a huge crush on ellie, and man, there's a massive amount of great mashups/remixes on her stuff if you'd be interested; but this is the best. the tip of the iceberg. instant classic.

Star Slinger x Whitney Houston - 'How Will I Copulate'

       

i recently discovered star slinger, aka darren williams, and his album from last year, volume one; a fantastic little work of art, with a refreshingly overpowering warm and innocent layer on every single sound he uses. when browsing his soundcloud, i discovered what apparently is a fan mashup between his track 'copulate' and 'how will i know' by whitney houston, which makes for an inappropriately cute title. and a fantastic mashup. this will make you happy.

James Blake x Drake - 'Measure It All'

       

this is probably the most interesting and extensive mashup here, as it is actually an extract from a mixtape, cleverly named 'james drake' by bombé and mr carribean. this track is a mash between james' very subtle 'measurements' and drake's throwaway track 'do it all' (which i didn't like very much), and therefore i'd definitely see this as an improvement on both parts. though i still consider the former to be a great song, drake's contribution adds another interesting dimension and quite frankly this mashup reminds me a lot more of james blake than the original. cool. cool, cool, cool.

M83 x Kanye West - 'Midnight Life'

       

next up is a mashup of m83's (hint: there'll be more of  him later on in my 2011 wrap-up) hit single 'midnight life' (you should absolutely check out the remixes for this track, which was also named pitchfork's 'track of the year') and kanye's 'good life'. excellent build up, and kanye's lyrics are a nice addition that breathes new life into the song. this is the absolute basics of the mashup formula, with excellent execution, add something recognizable to something fantastic. bam.

Little Dragon x Kelly Rowland - 'Union Motivation'

       

i've had little dragon on my 'yet to listen to'-list after i first heard her excellent collab with producer sbtrkt, and when i recently found this little gem i atleast got a small taste. though i have to admit, i hadn't initially heard either of these songs before, but i was instantly impressed by the excellent timing and the flow it brings. it's a great track, and after listening to both originals, i definitely prefer this version.