Producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange claim that their song “Vibeking” is “strikingly and/or substantially similar, if not identical” to the My Dear Melancholy, track “Call Out My Name” and are now suing The Weeknd for alleged copyright infringement. Pitchfork has confirmed the lawsuit, which was filed September 17 in a California federal court and which reads: “Both works are in a minor key. Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music. Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particular atmospheric and melancholic sound.”

On top of the alleged similarities in key and meter, another part of the lawsuit alleges that The Weeknd’s song uses the same scale degrees as “Vibeking” in the song’s melody of the hook. The suit includes musical charts comparing the notation between the two songs as part of its evidence of alleged copyright infringement.

According to a statement by  Stephen M. Doniger, an attorney for Fox and Strange, to Pitchfork: “The Weeknd is no stranger to accusations of infringement, and this one is probably the most egregious claim against him and his team to date. Epikker (Suniel and Henry) works with many artists in the industry, and was profoundly disappointed to discover the liberal copying of “Vibeking,” an original Epikker song that was shared with the Weeknd years ago in good faith, in “Call Out My Name.” We look forward to bringing these facts to light and securing reasonable compensation and credit for Epikker.”

Meanwhile, The Weeknd also celebrates successes, such as his song “Blinding Lights” breaking the record for most consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 100 chart recently. He has also joined forces with Nas and Belly for the music video for the song “Die For It.”

Photo Credit Richard Saethang