While on tour in London recently, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor sat down for an interview with BBC Music 6 to discuss his musical legacy.
During the conversation, the topic turned to the NIN’s immersive live shows, which use screens and various production techniques. Reznor made some accusations regarding Kanye West and The Weeknd, saying he believes both artists “ripped off ” his live show.
“I remember us watching a string of bands on Coachella from the comfort of our couch,” he recalls. “Every band has a video playing behind them and every band is sunk up with a convenient, polite lighting package, you know?
“And I saw Kanye West blatantly rip off, and The Weeknd, rip off our tours production-wise, which I’ll say without any hesitation. And they know.”
‘Ye was a surprise guest during The Weeknd’s Coachella set in 2015. For the show, he had two massive projection screens on each side of the stage and an elaborate lighting setup. As Pitchfork notes, NIN and West have both used production manager Martin Phillips in the past.
The Weeknd’s latest tour was in support of his 2016 album Starboy. In a 2017 interview with Billboard, The Weeknd’s lighting and production designers Sooner Routhier and Robert Long talked about Nine Inch Nails’ influence on the Legend Of The Fall tour look.
“We’ve always called [the Weeknd’s] aesthetic the Nine Inch Nails of R&B,” they said. “His music has so many dynamics and the visuals and lighting have to reflect that. But, it still has to be simple.” Routhier added, “I have always looked up to and respected Roy Bennett. His lighting designs for Nine Inch Nails and Prince have inspired me since I was in college.”
Compare them to a NIN show below.
Inb4 accusations of racist white man tryna keep a brotha down
gtfoh with that card. Trent is a LEGEND
Thanks for pulling my card out – Lame-O
Sounds to me you don’t like it when the so called “white man” like trent reznor calls out the fuckery of cry baby/ hypocrite kanye.
The weekend is such a winer
WTF ? Is this ? They used the same production designers.
For the longest time, up until this very moment, I’d wonder, “What happened to the days when you could say things like ‘You look so good, I suck on your daddy’s dick’ without feeling the need to press pause or plead no homo?”
The one rock concert I have been to is a NIN show. 15 years ago and I thought it was very much like a hiphop show. They way they transition from song to song, or atleast to. Back then it was about 60-90 minutes of straight non-stop music. No pausing to talk to the crowd or anything. Great show
the weekend is the most overrated artist in modern times
You need to do some digging and listen to his early work and not just the singles on the radio. Dude writes, co-produces and sings his ass off with little to no auto-tune. He had 4 major projects before he got pop and invented “Industrial R&B.” He is underrated if anything and one of the most talented musicians of this generation.
Rumor has it The Weekend helped or co-wrote Take Care-Drakes best album to date
Waiting on Kanye and the Weeknd’s response … No subliminals, straight called them out
I’m just not seeing the comparison. Weekend had two large screens recording him sing with blue lights & no flashing light or static screens & NIN did. Where is the copying?