The Weeknd is one of music's biggest cinephiles.
The artist's last effort, After Hours, paid stylistic homage to films like Martin Scorsese's Casino and Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in its aesthetic and cinematic sound.
In an interview with Rolling Stone published this morning, he revealed that he was spending a lot of his time "cooped up [...] for the last four months" watching Korean horror movies and writing songs from the perspective of the characters as exercises to keep his pen game sharp. He also touched on some future aspirations.
"I just want to be a filmmaker," the singer confessed. "I just want to make great cinema."
He touched on the success of After Hours, calling it his "most perfect album" to date. Still, he made sure to emphasize that he wanted to expand on its success and the filmic influence on his music.
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"I'm guilty of wanting to outdo my last album," he said. "But it's never, like ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song.’ I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide.”
The singer shared that he's been trying to straddle the "perfect balance with the film and the music" in the new songs he's been writing in the months since the release of After Hours.
"I think I've cracked the code," he said of the new work.
Fans will be be also delighted to hear that new music may not be so far away. With so much time to spend at home, the singer shared that he's been staying productive and consistent with a makeshift studio in his LA home.
“I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over,” the singer slyly hinted.