Andre 3000 - "New Blue Sun"

Time to chill

It was the biggest musical surprise of the year – Andre 3000 suddenly dropped an album. And that quickly became the biggest musical surprise of the year (surpassing the original biggest musical surprise) – it’s not only not a hip-hop album; it’s an ambient jazz album. Very New Age, much flute.

Though, according to the credits as they’re listed in the album’s wikipedia article, Andre’s primary instrument is a “wind controller” for much of the album – basically a woodwind synthesizer. Andre also plays a couple of other flutes throughout the album, and he is joined by nine other musicians, as well, who contribute a variety of additional instruments and effects to the soundscape.

And the effect is immaculate. New Blue Sun is the lowest of lo-fi vibes. The entirety of the album’s 87-minute run is pure sensational bliss and relaxation. There are no vocals – hell, there’s no real structure, either; these songs are more ‘moods’ or ‘vibes’ than true songs. And that’s fine, because the album is honestly not trying to be anything more than what it is.

The most energy you’ll find on this album is in the track titles, which have been the source of many-a-meme already.

The album is only eight tracks long, and only two are shorter than ten minutes. Of course, if the point of a song is relaxation or meditation, it needs to be long, otherwise the frequent transitions become a source of distraction.

There’s nothing especially bad on this album and, likewise, while there are moments of raw beauty, no singular track objectively stands out. It just…is. And it’s good. There’s not much more to say. Go give it a listen. Play it when you need some chill, vibey downtime.

Rating: Green