New Blue Sun (Vinyl)

One of music’s greatest auteurs – André “3000” Benjamin has announced his debut solo album, New Blue Sun. Co-produced by Benjamin and lauded multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, and featuring the playing of Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthew david, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd, New Blue Sun is an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds; a celebratory piece of work in the form of a living, breathing, aural organism.

The album features a core group of today’s best healing music players: Niño on bells, chimes, cymbals, drums, gongs, plants and percussion; Nate Mercereau on guitar, guitar synth and live sampling; and Surya Botofasina on keyboards and synthesizers.

André plays several different wind instruments on this album, including a digital wind instrument, a Maya flute, and others made of wood and bamboo.

Ultimately, New Blue Sun represents the next step in André’s creative evolution, much like when he started producing OutKast songs under the name Earthtone III, when he added “3000” to his name to acknowledge the future, when he crafted The Love Below as a jazz-funk hybrid indebted to Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins and George Clinton.

Making New Blue Sun was therapeutic for him. He wants it to soothe you as well.