André 3000 will release his debut solo album (The Love Below and Class of 3000: Music Volume One would like a word) New Blue Sun on November 17 via Epic Records. Co-produced by Benjamin and multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, and featuring instrumental contributions from Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd, New Blue Sun is an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds. “I’ve been interested in winds for a long time, so it was just a natural progression for me to go into flutes,” André said in a press statement. “I just like messing with instruments and I gravitated mostly toward wind.
“There’s this misconception that I just won’t do it,” André said of releasing a rap record (the opening track on the new LP is cheekily titled “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap‘ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time”). “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. And no it’s not like that... In my mind, I really would like to make a rap album. So maybe that happens one day, but I got to find a way to say what I want to say in an interesting way that’s appealing to me at this age.”
Pre-order New Blue Sun here, and check out the album cover below. You can also find out more about the project through André’s interview with NPR about New Blue Sun here.
