House of Balloons
House of Balloons is the debut mixtape by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was self-released free of charge on March 21, 2011, through his own record label, XO. It was commercially reissued in 2012 as the first disc in the Weeknd's compilation album, Trilogy, through Republic Records, and reissued in its original version, with all samples present, in 2021.
Initially releasing music under different aliases in 2009, the Weeknd met with several producers, including Cirkut, Illangelo, and Jeremy Rose, in Toronto between 2010 and 2011, where songs from the mixtape were periodically created. In January 2011, Doc McKinney and Illangelo became the project's primary producers. Musically, it is an alternative R&B record that incorporates different elements of genres such as dream pop, electro, rock, and pop. Symbolizing the Weeknd's experiences in Toronto, Ontario, the mixtape's lyrical themes detail drug abuse, sexual encounters, and parties.
The Weeknd performed at select venues and festivals throughout 2011 to promote the mixtape. Two singles supported the mixtape, "Wicked Games", and a bonus track included in the 2012 reissue, "Twenty Eight". "Wicked Games" was the Weeknd's debut single and peaked at 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United States, House of Balloons made its first appearance on the Billboard 200 more than 10 years after its release, peaking at 113. It encountered more success on Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at number 37.
Reviews of the mixtape praised its sound, atmosphere, and the Weeknd's vocals, while also containing their own overall criticisms. House of Balloons earned a spot in the 2011 Polaris Music Prize shortlist, and it was frequently listed as one of the best projects of 2011. The Weeknd's anonymity during the project's rollout is attributed to fueling his popularity growth, inspiring artists to use the same approach. House of Balloons is also cited as altering the R&B genre, with its darker production, lyricism, and vocals contrasting with R&B's more upbeat tone in the late 2000's.
Background and production
At the age of seventeen, Abel Tesfaye dropped out of school and left his home, relocating to an apartment with two friends in Toronto, Ontario. As these events occurred over a weekend, he adopted the stage name 'the Weeknd', with the omission of the second 'e' being done to avoid trademark issues with Canadian band the Weekend. Before using this stage name, the Weeknd released music through YouTube in 2009, working under the stage name 'Kin Kane' as part of a hip-hop duo called 'Bulleez n Nerdz'. During this time, he was also a part of a songwriting and production team called 'the Noise', writing demos intended for artists such as Drake, Justin Timberlake, and Chris Brown.In 2010, the Weeknd met producer Jeremy Rose through mutual friends in Toronto. After the Weeknd freestyled over numerous of Rose's instrumentals, Rose asked him if he wanted to work together as a "dark R&B project". Their sessions led to the conception of the first part of "The Party & the After Party", "What You Need", "Loft Music", and an early version of "The Morning". Rose left the project due to creative differences, but allowed the Weeknd to use the songs they produced under the condition that he would receive production credits. In December, the Weeknd met Canadian producer Illangelo during one of the latter's daily studio sessions. Their first studio session together led to the creation of an early version of "Glass Table Girls" and songs that appeared on the Weeknd's second mixtape, Thursday. The Weeknd met producer Cirkut through a mutual friend, and the two created "High for This" in one day. "Wicked Games" was written by the Weeknd and Rainer Millar-Blanchaer. Meeting through mutual friends, they wrote the track in Millar-Blanchaer's home studio.
Cirkut introduced the Weeknd to Doc McKinney in January 2011. McKinney played the Weeknd multiple instrumentals, including the one for "House of Balloons", made sometime in 2009. While creating the song, the Weeknd's desire to rap led to McKinney improvising another beat within the track, becoming a reworked version of "Glass Table Girls". McKinney, the Weeknd, and later Illangelo began further work on the mixtape in January. "The Knowing" was the first song the trio recorded together. Desiring something "wavy", the Weeknd asked McKinney to slow the instrumental down from its original tempo of 90 beats per minute multiple times, becoming satisfied with the track once its tempo was at 45. As production progressed, the trio decided to release the mixtape for free, Illangelo recalling that it was in a rebellious manner.
Recording for House of Balloons shifted between different studios in Toronto, including McKinney's private studio, and Illangelo's personal room in Dream House Studios. Illangelo recalled that the constant change in environment turned each song into a "collage of different equipment", making it challenging to mix each song into one body of work. According to the Weeknd in a 2016 interview, he frequently used drugs to support himself when he made his earlier projects. Songs from House of Balloons would be lengthy due to the Weeknd speaking out his thoughts during recording sessions.
The Weeknd found inspiration in music from the 1980s while creating House of Balloons. He also revealed that Deftones heavily inspired the mixtape, alongside his two other mixtapes released in 2011, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. In a 2013 interview with Complex, the Weeknd revealed that House of Balloons was not mixed or mastered, attributing the decision to him viewing it as a mixtape, not an album. He added that 14 tracks were planned for the mixtape before he lent some tracks to the Canadian rapper Drake for his own album, Take Care.
Composition
Music and lyrics
House of Balloons is categorized as an alternative R&B record, incorporating elements of different genres such as dream pop, electro, rock, hip-hop, trip-hop, lo-fi, pop, and gothic rock. The Weeknd's mixing of genres with different samples reflected a movement of black pop/R&B artists interacting with music from white, indie pop rock artists. Symbolizing his experiences in Toronto, House of Balloons explores, but does not romanticize the loneliness of partying in the night, detailing late-night sexual and drug escapades, the aftermath of partying, and hedonistic fantasies.Tracks
The mixtape opens with an "eerie, ominous" ringing sound in "High for This", a darkwave and bedroom R&B song. Beginning with whispered, soft vocals and an echoing instrumental, it later takes a darker tone, adding a commanding bass synth and a more aggressive beat. The song details the Weeknd's attempts to coach his partner through a sex act. "What You Need" is an R&B track featuring a minimalistic beat, a basic minor synth chord progression, vocals described by Pitchforks Larry Fitzmaurice as "butter-dripping", and a sample of Aaliyah's 2001 single, "Rock the Boat". Throughout the track, the Weeknd challenges a partner's current relationship with suggestive language, repeatedly telling her "He's what you want / I'm what you need".The mixtape's third track, "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" includes two separate songs combined into a single track. Its first part, "House of Balloons", is an R&B song structured upon a sample of Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1980 single, "Happy House". With a rattling bass line, sharp synths, and falsetto vocals, the Weeknd attempts to convince someone that his party is stable, dubbing it a "happy house". Three and a half minutes in, the track transitions into its second part, "Glass Table Girls". Described to be thematically darker than the first part, it features a numbed rap with a low-end churn, a pulsating synth, and brute percussion that shows a negative side to partying, describing sex and use of drugs. "The Morning", a song with large and rich production supported by what Joe Colly of Pitchfork describes as "whining guitars and sparkling synths", a distorted bass, and softly sung vocals, sees the Weeknd in an upbeat moment before coming down from the highs of the party that occurred the night before. "Wicked Games" is a soul ballad with a percussive backbeat. The singer dramatically delivers lyrics about aching for love, even if the feelings are not mutual.
The mixtape's sixth track is another two-part track, titled "The Party & the After Party". Its first half, "The Party", is described as a blend of rap, rock, and pop. It uses a sped-up version of American duo Beach House's 2006 track "Master of None" for its instrumental, with flickering bells and smooth claps. In this part of the track, the Weeknd attempts to seduce a girl, eventually having sex with her. "The Party" transitions into the second part of the track, "The After Party" three minutes and eighteen seconds in. The production switches to a staccato melody with lush harmonies and acoustic guitar plucks. Picking up from the events of the first part, the Weeknd wonders if this hook-up was the right idea. Directly following the night of fast-paced ecstasy shown in "The Party & the After Party" is the seventh track on House of Balloons, "Coming Down". Including a vocal sample from the anime Fate/stay night, the song is supported with the sound of wind and a mini-motif. Throughout the song, the Weeknd murmurs for his partner's stmpathy as he admits his regret and reaffirms his loyalty to his partner, who he cheated on the night before.
With "Loft Music", the Weeknd samples Beach House again, using their 2008 track, "Gila". In the chorus-less first half of the track, the Weeknd mixes rapping and singing together while reassuring a woman skeptical about hooking up with him. The second half, beginning two minutes and thirty-three minutes into the song, contrasts with the first half, containing what Billboards Bianca Gracie describes as "ethereal" production, as the Weeknd wails throughout the track. The original mixtape ends with "The Knowing", built off of a sample from Cocteau Twins' 1990 song, "Cherry-Coloured Funk". With breathy vocals and a reverberant guitar, "The Knowing" displays the narrator's anger at his partner's infidelity, while despite his vulnerability, pretends to be accepting of it. On future reissues of House of Balloons, a bonus track is included, named "Twenty Eight". Accompanied by a pensive piano, the song describes the feeling of being heartbroken by a woman.