The last few weeks have been fantastic. The mixtape “Nostalgia, ULTRA” by the OFWGKTA delegate Frank Ocean dropped, which was shortly followed by Toronto-bound singer The Weeknd‘s mixtape “House Of Balloons”. Although Frank Ocean’s relation to Odd Future may not lead to believe the following, both records are extremely soothing and unique debuts with incredibly tight productions, filled with slow jams that make you want to break camp and disappear into their music for a bit. The records are on that R&B kind of tip, and both singers have incredible voices.The two of them stayed low on the radar after their records got picked up by masses and industry heavyweights, and maybe this disassocation is what makes their music so charasteristic. A clever way of marketing as it allows to leave the listeners to stick with their own interpretation.

As much praise as both records received, it didn’t take too long before R&B skeptics and bitter souls started to tore these records apart for not living up to their definition of the genre. Both mixtapes have a darker layer to them than most contemporary R&B and what have you songs. Frank Ocean must have seen the discussion coming and dismissed the it in his three line press release at the same date he released the mixtape, stating he doesn’t do labels outside of Bluegrass and Death Metal. “I think I started somethin’, I got what I wanted / Every single record autotunin’ / Zero emotion, muted emotion, pitch corrected, computed emotion.” he ironically sings in the track “Novocane” and that’s that. Both Frank Ocean’s and The Weeknd’s lyrics show that they’re written from fairly innocent erased states but this doesn’t mean they lack emotion, on the contrary: the atmospheres on both records set an alleviating mood. The youngins surely have a long way to go until delivering record like 12 Dreams but then again, singers like R.Kelly are at least thirty years of practice, ten lawsuits and millions of dollars ahead of them. Trying to adjust is not what they’re trying to do ether: their aim was to release a quality mixtape independently, and get their music out there. These two men to are the forgoers of a revitalizing R&B sub-genre that doesn’t call for its own name. Fortunately people like Brandy, Beyoncé, Ciara and Drake have my back on this one as they’ve all showed support to the two young musicians.

It might not be fair to not dedicate two in-depth reviews on both of them but I think in this case, it’s not needed. Their music speaks for itself. Frank Ocean kills it on aforementioned “Novocane” and “American Wedding”, and even samples MGMT’s “Electric Feel” (all tracks are produced by himself) and although I’m allergic to synthpop, I’m not even mad at that. The Weeknd does a bit of Siouxsie and Beach House sampling, but relies on a lot of original productions by members of linked She’s So Lovely Collective Doc McKinney and Ill Angelo. Favourites are “What You Need” and “Wicked Games”. Although it’s just as suitable for home listening, The Weeknd relies more on a bass vibe instead of the acoustic line that runs through Frank Ocean’s music, and it will only be a matter of time before more producers will pull a Jacques Greene and remix his tracks and play them out. I can’t wait for the day I hear The Weeknd on a 4-way Funktion One system.

Download: Frank Ocean – Novocane

Download: The Weeknd – Wicked Games

The Weekend – House Of Balloons: http://the-weeknd.com
Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, ULTRA: http://bit.ly/gBwVI6