André 3000 – 7 Piano Sketches [EP]

André 3000, the legendary Atlanta hip hop artist known for his unwillingness to be confined creatively, continues to defy expectations.

Following his recent venture into instrumental music with a critically acclaimed album featuring the flute, he has now released “7 Piano Sketches”, an EP entirely composed of piano instrumentals, further showcasing his diverse musical exploration. The record features André 3000’s voice only at the start of each track, where he announces the title and number before launching into piano pieces representing various states of mind.

The EP features a range of track titles, from the utterly bizarre, such as the exhaustively titled ‘When you’re a ant and you wake up in an awesome mood, about to drive your son to school, only to discover that you left the lights on in the car last night so your battery is drained’ (yes, that’s the full name), to the more evocative, like ‘I spend all day waiting for the night.’ This naming convention continues his recent preference for using complete sentences, a style also seen on his previous album, New Blue Sun. What’s apparent is that in recent years, André has been creating music driven by personal enjoyment and exploration of different artistic avenues, rather than seeking mainstream appeal. This approach has resulted in uniquely eccentric works like this EP. In a move reflecting the EP’s distinctive character and cover art sketch, André even attended the MET Gala with a piano attached to his back as part of the promotion. You can listen to the EP below.