The Weeknd – Abel Tesfaye – covers the September issue of GQ. He’s promoting his new album, Kiss Land, which is coming on the heels of his wildly successful album After Hours last year. It should be good – I get the feeling that Abel writes so many songs and he barely even has time to record everything. For years, Abel has been a more reticent figure in music. He’s not really “image is everything,” nor is he using interviews as a confessional. I’ve definitely gotten the impression that he likes to withhold, that he doesn’t want to give away too much, and that he genuinely protects his privacy. There is an image-maintenance thing to it too. So I was surprised by how relaxed and lowkey he really was in this GQ interview – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

The difference between Abel and The Weeknd: “The lines were blurry at the beginning. And as my career developed—as I developed as a man—it’s become very clear that Abel is someone I go home to every night. And The Weeknd is someone I go to work as.

Whether he’s a dark person: “I am not dark. My art is dark, and I’ve gone through dark times. I’ve used those dark times as inspiration for my art. But I feel like because I’m not dark, I was able to channel it and put it into my music and into my art.

Whether he still likes the name The Weeknd as much as he used to: “No, not as much as I did then. I still like it, but I think now it’s easy to take off that coat. I like that I have that as an option to escape Abel a little bit. I definitely loved it more back then than I do now. I love my name now, though: Abel.

He’s sober lite. “I like sober lite. I do [drink]. Occasionally. I’m not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn’t there. [Weed?] Yes. No [other drugs]. Drugs were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it. And I’ve spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don’t need it. Because for a lot of people, it’s hard to shake it. But I knew I didn’t want it.

What he wants for his future: “And I eventually want a family. I know I say I don’t, but I know I do. I want children…. I feel like having children would influence me and inspire me more.

How he feels about his Grammy snubs: “I guess I just wasn’t good enough. I don’t believe that, but to their standards, that’s what it is. I wasn’t good enough, and that’s the reality of it. When it happened, I had all these ideas and thoughts. I was angry and I was confused and I was sad. But now, looking back at it, I never want to know what really happened. I just don’t care. Because that will never be the reason why I do what I do. It never really was before. And I’m glad that I can make music and not have to think about that. I’ll never be in that conversation ever again.

Whether he’ll ever submit his music to the Grammys again: “No. I mean, I have no interest. Everyone’s like, “No, just do better next time.” I will do better, but not for you. I’m going to do better for me.

[From GQ]

He talks a lot about his history in Canada, figuring out how he wanted to make music, how he works in the studio, the people who give him good advice and more. It’s honestly a good piece and he manages to come across like someone who is often consumed by work but who tries to avoid being a full-time workaholic. He’s still pinching himself about the experiences he gets to have and the people he gets to meet. As for the Grammys… I think he has every right to be upset and he has every right to just stop participating in the system. He’s not Taylor Swift, you know? He’s not required to *care* about the Grammys. He made a good album, he knows he made a good album, the fans love his music, and that’s it.

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Cover & IG courtesy of GQ.