SOUTHPORT MAGAZINE

(This article is an archived piece by Hunter Petch, from his time at the no-longer existent blog “Sparky”).

Personal curation is a colossal aspect of listening to music today, as every streaming service and site is adamant in serving you more of what you like instantly. Although this is most definitely useful, the art of stepping out of your comfort zone musically has been lost for a good while now. Andre 3000 releasing New Blue Sun has clearly raised interest in the idea of an instrumental project in the eyes of a surface level fan–creating a gateway for deeper expeditions sonically.

Andre 3000 has solidified himself as an essential artist of our time due to his genre-bending style and visionary lyricism. For decades we’ve been anxiously awaiting a possible solo release from him, but “3 Stacks” has never veered away from his personal creative missions to please anyone–and this new project is no different. New Blue Sun doesn’t contain any of the heartfelt, upbeat raps we got from the duo of Big Boi and Andre on the 6 masterful Outkast albums. In fact, it doesn’t contain any bars at all. Andre decided to release an 8 track instrumental project–mainly centered around his prized instrument, the flute. Although this was unfortunate news to some, taking the time to listen to the project in full is absolutely worth your time.

Each track is a dense environment with flute compositions twirling around erratically arranged synths and percussion–making every listen a new opportunity for discovery. Songs like “The Slang Word…” and “Dreams Once Buried…” act as undiscovered sonic jungles–substantial in size and apt to be studied. The instrumentals aren’t all solo efforts though, as other talented musicians such as Carlos Nino and Nate Mercereau undeniably put together pieces to Andre’s puzzle. Tranquility is within arms reach at nearly every moment on this project, and with enough patience, the instrumentals climb to surprisingly stunning heights.

In comparison to Andre’s other works, sure, it’s odd. In comparison to other new age instrumental projects, sure, it’s messy. But the importance of New Blue Sun cannot be understated, as the project is so much more than just an Andre 3000 flute album. It’s an excuse for a newer generation of music fans (who take very kindly to Andre) to explore new genres and ideas. Hopefully this project will lead new fans of ambient atmospheres to this year’s similar successes like Takashi Kokubo’s Music For A Cosmic Garden, or even more hip-hop focused instrumental projects like CONDUCTOR WE HAVE A PROBLEM from Conductor Williams. Continuing to expand your palette as a music fan is exciting, and even at 48 years old, Andre 3000 is leading the charge to embrace change and uncomfortable sounds on a preponderant scale unlike ever before.