Andre 3000 “New Blue Sun” received around 3 MILLION streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours.
Digest those disclaimers, and what are we left with? New Blue Sun feels like music from the time when your record shop had a “New Age” section, or that CD rack stocked with images of dolphins and rainforests in your local garden centre. Percussion twinkles and crinkles, keyboard sounds burble warmly, and Benjamin improvises with a range of different woodwinds. The songs are long, and peaceful, and deliberately unfocused. When he lands on a repeating melody near the end of That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther…, it’s not worth the amount of time he spends restating it.
In response to fans’ anticipation of traditional rap verses, André clarified, “There’s this misconception that I just won’t do it. I think people feel like I’m sitting around on rap albums, or sitting around and I’m just not putting them out in that way.” He expressed a desire to make a rap album but emphasized the need to find an interesting approach that aligns with his current artistic sensibilities.
Is there any combination of words that feels more anticlimactic than “experimental flute music”? “Rail replacement bus service” perhaps. Try it: “Happy anniversary darling! I got you an experimental flute music experience.” “You’re a beneficiary in my will! I’m bequeathing you my experimental flute music collection.”
So when this week’s news that André Benjamin is finally releasing his debut solo album, 17 years since he last blessed the world of hip hop with an album as one half of Outkast, was followed quickly by “consisting entirely of experimental flute music”, you could almost hear the groans of disappointment.
The genesis of “New Blue Sun” started unexpectedly when André met experimental jazz artist Carlos Niño at an L.A. grocery store. The impromptu jam sessions in Niño’s basement introduced André to a group of talented performers, resulting in a year-long collaborative effort. The album, with its improvised real-time creation, unveils André’s unrefined soul and offers insight into his unique creative process.
André’s love for the flute, a central instrument in “New Blue Sun,” has been a point of curiosity for many. In an interview, he shared that his obsession with the flute has raised eyebrows among friends in Atlanta. “My homies in Atlanta, we’ll talk, and they’ll be like, ‘Man, you know people think you crazy messing around with this flute,’” he humorously revealed, acknowledging the unconventional nature of his musical pursuits.