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André 3000
7 Piano Sketches
EPIC. DL
EMBOLDENED BY his shift from outré rap wordsmith to flute-wielding prophet of the new age of New Age, André 3000 follows 2023’s sprawling New Blue Sun with a digital-only 16-minute set of iPhone-recorded instrumentals. While no pianist by his own admission (“I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I’m playing”), the ex-Outkast rapper’s decade-old fumbles are less slight than they first appear – Blueberry Mansions revealing a dramatic yen; the woozy ambience of Off Rhythm Laughter’s jaunty refrain becoming subsumed by looped TV laughter; Bluffing In The Snow shedding ideas at a pace before finding its staccato mojo. Gamely promoted by sporting a miniature Steinway at this year’s Met Gala, it’s hard to decide whether André’s signalling a volte face or merely running down his contract.