In a previous endeavor with a woodwind instrument, André 3000 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, André 3000 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] The song "Tunnels of Egypt" was made during New Blue Sun's recording sessions, but was left off the album and later released on November 22, 2024.[5] Ahead of New Blue Sun's announcement, fellow rapperKiller Mike teased an impending release by André 3000.[6]
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.[7] It features "a myriad" of different flutes performed by André 3000 in various styles across eight instrumental pieces.[8]
When announcing the album on November 14, 2023, André 3000 emphasized that the project is not "a rap record", with the packaging displaying a lighthearted disclaimer that it contains "no bars";[9] 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.[10][11]
The album was originally titled Everything Is Too Loud, but was renamed because André 3000 felt that it put out negative energy.[12]
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.[14]
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".[20]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".[16]
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".[15] 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".[17]
New Blue Sun appeared on year-end lists from Pitchfork and Consequence, who respectively rated it the 50th and 47th best album of 2023.[24][25]
