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New Blue Sun

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New Blue Sun
Studio album by
André 3000
ReleasedNovember 17, 2023
StudioShangri-La, Malibu, California
Genre
Length87:41
LabelEpic
Producer
André 3000 chronology
Look Ma No Hands
(2018) 		New Blue Sun
(2023)

New Blue Sun is the debut solo album by American musician André 3000. It was released by Epic Records on November 17, 2023. It features instrumental contributions by an ensemble including Benjamin on various flutes, percussionist and producer Carlos Niño, keyboardist Surya Botofasina, guitarist Nate Mercereau, drummer Deantoni Parks, vocalist Mia Doi Todd, multi-instrumentalist Jesse Peterson and keyboardist Diego Gaeta; as well as Leaving Records musicians V.C.R and Matthewdavid.[1] The album represents an end to the musician’s 17-year hiatus of new material.[2] It will be the musician's first solo nomination at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, after he won with his group project OutKast with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in 2004.

Background

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In a previous endeavor with a woodwind instrument, Benjamin collaborated with James Blake in 2018 to release a 17-minute long instrumental jazz song called "Look Ma No Hands"; the former played bass clarinet on the track.[3]

In the years leading up to the release of New Blue Sun, Benjamin made media appearances playing flute in public settings; this was especially amplified online by his appearance as a flautist on the score for the Daniels' 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once. He would later meet with jazz musician Carlos Niño in Los Angeles, where the two agreed to create a studio album.[4] Ahead of its announcement, fellow rapper Killer Mike teased an impending release by André 3000.[5]

As his first solo studio release, and the first studio material of his in a significant period of time, the 87-minute album largely consists of "experimental flute music" with both acoustic and electronic instrumentation, influenced by spiritual jazz musicians and minimalist composers.[6] It features "a myriad" of different flutes performed by Benjamin in various styles across eight instrumental pieces.[7]

When announcing the album on November 14, 2023, Benjamin emphasized that the project is not "a rap record", with the packaging displaying a lighthearted disclaimer that it contains "no bars";[8] he has additionally dismissed rumors that he was "sitting around on rap albums" that he has been characterized as refusing to release, saying instead that he felt more comfortable with the direction indicated by New Blue Sun.[9][10]

The album was originally titled Everything Is Too Loud, but was renamed because André 3000 felt that it put out negative energy.[11]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[12]
Metacritic77/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Clash6/10[15]
Evening Standard[16]
HipHopDX4.1/5[17]
musicOMH[18]
Pitchfork8.3/10[19]
Spill[20]
The Observer[21]
The Times[22]

New Blue Sun was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on ten reviews.[13]

Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Sadie Sartini Garner described it as an "87-minute devotional to new age, ambient jazz, and spiritual discovery. It's beautiful, demanding, and among the most fascinating artistic left turns in recent memory".[19] Clash's Robin Murray called it "relaxing, occasionally absorbing, and often explicitly beautiful" and an album that "hinges on André's love for melody and his questing spirit".[15]

Fred Thomas of AllMusic wrote that "if you can get past the premise (and overlook the goofy song titles, most of which are too long and silly to dignify here) and tune in to New Blue Sun as an album of contemplative healing sounds, it's pleasant and sometimes even sublime".[14] David Smyth of the Evening Standard asked "Is this really how he's going to reintroduce himself to the music world?" and wrote that it "feels like music from the time when your record shop had a 'New Age' section", calling its songs "long, and peaceful, and deliberately unfocused".[16]

New Blue Sun appeared on year-end lists from Pitchfork and Consequence, who respectively rated it the 50th and 47th best album of 2023.[23][24]

Track listing

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New Blue Sun track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time"
12:20
2."The Slang Word P(*)ssy Rolls Off the Tongue with Far Better Ease Than the Proper Word Vagina. Do You Agree?"
  • Benjamin
  • Niño
  • Mercereau
  • Botofasina
13:50
3."That Night in Hawaii When I Turned into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control ... Sh¥t Was Wild"
10:29
4."BuyPoloDisorder's Daughter Wears a 3000® Shirt Embroidered"
  • Benjamin
  • Niño
  • Mercereau
  • Botofasina
13:05
5."Ninety Three 'Til Infinity and Beyoncé"
3:49
6."Ghandi, Dalai Lama, Your Lord & Savior J.C. / Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy"
10:15
7."Ants to You, Gods to Who?"
  • Benjamin
  • Niño
  • Gaeta
  • Peterson
  • Todd
6:42
8."Dreams Once Buried Beneath the Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout into Undying Gardens"
  • Benjamin
  • Niño
  • Mercereau
  • Botofasina
17:11
Total length:87:41

Personnel

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Musicians

Technical

Charts

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Chart performance for New Blue Sun
Chart (2023–2024) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 55
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 50
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[27] 7
UK Record Store (OCC)[28] 17
US Billboard 200[29] 34
US New Age Albums (Billboard)[30] 1
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[31] 8

References

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  1. ^ "André 3000 Announces New Blue Sun Live Tour". January 24, 2024.
  2. ^ Carmichael, Rodney (November 17, 2023). "André 3000 opens up about 'New Blue Sun,' his daring new solo album". NPR. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Minsker, Evan (May 13, 2018). "André 3000 Releases 2 New Songs for Mother's Day: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Renshaw, David (November 14, 2023). "André 3000 announces new album New Blue Sun". The Fader. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Pointer, Flisadam (November 14, 2023). "The Wild Tracklist For André 3000's New Album Mentions Everybody From Beyoncé To Jeffrey Dahmer To Jesus". Uproxx. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (November 14, 2023). "André 3000 announces first solo album in 17 years – and it's full of flute music". NME. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Paul, Larisha (November 14, 2023). "André 3000 Debut Solo Album New Blue Sun Is Not What You'd Expect". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Harrison, Scoop (November 14, 2023). "André 3000 Announces Debut Solo Album New Blue Sun". Consequence. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Kaufman, Gil (November 14, 2023). "OutKast's André 3000 Warns First Album in 17 Years, New Blue Sun, Has 'No Bars', But Tons of Flute". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "André 3000 on His New Album and Life After Outkast: The GQ Video Cover Story". GQ. November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Mendez, Marisa (December 6, 2023). "André 3000 Reveals Original Title Of 'New Blue Sun' Album". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "New Blue Sun by André 3000 reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "New Blue Sun by André 3000 Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Thomas, Fred. "André 3000 – New Blue Sun Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Murray, Robin (November 17, 2023). "André 3000 – New Blue Sun". Clash. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Smyth, David (November 17, 2023). "André 3000 – New Blue Sun: rap? pop? Nope, experimental flute (really)". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  17. ^ Lewis, Dash (November 25, 2023). "Andre 3000 Surprises & Delights On Unexpected 'New Blue Sun'". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  18. ^ Devlin, Ben (November 23, 2023). "André 3000 - New Blue Sun | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Sartini Garner, Sadie (November 20, 2023). "André 3000: New Blue Sun Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Harris, Gerrod (November 17, 2023). "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ANDRÉ 3000 - NEW BLUE SUN". The Spill Magazine. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Morris, Damien (November 26, 2023). "André 3000: New Blue Sun review – immersive and out there". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (November 20, 2023). "Andre 3000: New Blue Sun review - From OutKast hero to flute jazzer". The Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  23. ^ Szatan, Gabriel (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  24. ^ Graves, W. (December 4, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked". Consequence. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – André 3000 – New Blue Sun" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – André 3000 – New Blue Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  28. ^ "Official Record Store Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  29. ^ "Andre 3000 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  30. ^ "Andre 3000 Chart History (New Age Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  31. ^ "André 3000 Chart History (Top Rock & Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
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