André 3000 lets woodwinds tell the story on New Blue Sun, an instrumental album co-produced by Carlos Niño.
The eight-track project arrives 17 years after Idlewild, long considered the final album from the duo of 3 Stacks and Big Boi, a.k.a. OutKast. Joining André on the Epic Records release is an accomplished group of fellow musicians including Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd.
The song titles cleverly accentuate the experience, including self-referential entries like “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time" and "Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens."
As André explained in a recent interview with Rodney Carmichael for NPR, the latter marks an intentional reference to the Dungeon Family collective, which is a crucial part of the larger OutKast story.
“I wouldn't be able to play flute or any of this stuff. I wouldn't have produced any of this if it wasn't for the Dungeon,” 3 Stacks said of the sustaining importance of his earlier Dungeon Family period. “So the Dungeon was the dirt.”
New Blue Sun is out now on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc. Listen here.
