Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Andr 3000 at Berklee: Respect Your Taste-Thats All You Got

31/10/2024

Andr 3000 at Berklee: Respect Your Taste-Thats All You Got On tour for New Blue Sun, the iconic artist and his band sat down for a sprawling conversation on staying excited about music, trusting your instincts, and-what else-flutes.

By

John Mirisola

October 31, 2024

Andr 3000 spoke to students at the Berklee Performance Center.

Image by Elizabeth Friar

Any time Andr 3000 shows up, you know youre in for a treat. Whether a classic Outkast song drops at a party, or the artist lends a perfect cameo to a Beyonc or Frank Ocean track, or he delivers a killer portrayal of Jimi Hendrix in a 2014 biopic, or he plays a flute in a caf while he waits for his coffee, or he releases an ambient jazz opus called New Blue Sun, Andr Benjamins appearance commands-and rewards-our full attention.

Students at Berklee got to relearn this basic fact of modern life this week when Andr 3000 stopped by the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday before his performance at the Wang Theatre on Wednesday. He and his band sat down with moderator Lil John Roberts for a wide-ranging conversation sponsored by the Berklee Career Center.

Much of the conversation centered on this latest act in Benjamins musical career, in which hes picked up the flute (or, well, many tens of different flutes, wooden and digital), and turned to atmospheric soundscapes-diving headfirst into the ethereal, spiritual, and avant garde, as Berklee student Fulano Librizzi put it in his introduction before the band took the stage.

Listen to the first track from New Blue Sun:

The world needed [this kind of record], said Roberts in his opening remarks. The world needs healing. They need the positivity, the high vibrations, with all thats going on right now.

Benjamin credited those bandmates-producer and percussionist Carlos Ni o, keyboardist Surya Botofasina, and drummer Deantoni Parks BM '03-for collaborating with him to bring about his new sound. These people here on stage are really responsible for helping me to get to that place, he said. Its the first time that Ive been in a serious collective where everybody was popping at the same time.

During the hourlong panel, Andr 3000 and his band answered student-submitted questions about Benjamins artistic journey and the production of New Blue Sun, their approach to creativity and originality, the bands practice of spontaneous composition, and much more. Read on for highlights from their conversation.

On the Evolution from Rap to New Blue SunIn response to the notion that this new album was a reinvention of his artistic image, Benjamin clarified, It was 17 years since the last time people really caught a full body of work [from me]. So what may appear to be a reinvention is really just a continuation for me.

Im just happy to be a part of it, he said about the new album. I think it just came at a perfect time. Of course I selfishly just enjoyed it-just the way it sounded. It wasnt a big plan or anything. It was just what was happening in my life, just the same way Speakerboxxx or Stankonia or ATLiens, any of those things . . . they were never planned-out situations. So Im just sticking with the same formula Ive always stuck with, and it happened to take me in this direction . . . where I was able to meet individuals that pushed me in a certain way, invited me into worlds they created.

At the same time, the compositional method for the album was in sharp contrast to some of Benjamins earlier work. I started producing for Outkast at the ATLiens album. I would sit down and go through records, I would go through playing instruments, sampling myself, and it was more constructed. And Im an only child, so I would spend a lot of time by myself with the drum machine, or with the ideas first, and then I would bring it to the studio for Big Boi to check out. . . . When I met Carlos Ni o, he introduced me to a way of recording that was completely in-the-moment. There was no other way to think outside of that. And that opened up a whole new world of things. . . . Thats how we recorded this album.

How Andr 3000 Fell in Love with the FluteThe continuation-not reinvention-of Benjamins artistic identity was spurred, in large part, by the discovery of his love for the flute. From the very first day that I got my first flute [a wooden Maya flute made by the craftsman Guillermo Martinez], I just found myself never putting it down, and waking up really getting excited to play, he said. He would wander around and play, hearing the way the sound moved through his surroundings-it sounds so great in nature, or in spaces where you get reverberation off the hallway, so it was always kind of a quest to walk around and play. . . . I would do it daily for years.

However: New Blue Sun is not a flute album. We do so many other things on the album besides play the flute. I think because Im not rapping on it, they say, Well this is a flute thing. . . . People lean into the flute thing a lot more than they should, because its a vast array of sounds.

To Stay Original, Stay Excited

Left to right: Andr 3000, Carlos Ni o, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Lil John Roberts

Image by Elizabeth Friar

When asked how he keeps his music original and unique at a time where making music feels formulaic Benjamins response was simple: I have to enjoy what Im doing. Plain and simple. I just try to keep myself excited with what Im doing. And that leads to exploration, trying to find new ways to do it, trying to find new things to keep yourself excited.

If its coming from your heart, added Ni o, if youre feeling it-whatever form it takes-if you love it, thats it.

Botofasina also commented on the value of dispelling a negative, critical outlook on others music: A great way to not become formulaic is not to be a critic of others who are trying . . . Be a fan of music who happens to be at an instrument; or use your own pers
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/andre-3000-berklee-panel...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

04/11/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Jesse Eisenberg, the Writer-Director of A Real Pain

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

04/11/2024

Transforming the Future of Uncrewed Surface Technology

L3Harris' advanced technologies provide innovative solutions for customers' toughest requirements in the uncrewed systems market....

04/11/2024

NAB Taps Sean Perkins as Chief Marketing Officer

WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters said it has named Sean Perkins as chief marketing officer and senior vice president of Global Connections an...

04/11/2024

Telemundo To Use VR for First Time in Election Coverage

MIAMI In recent weeks a crew of about 150 have been transforming Telemundo's Miami headquarters into two studios that will play a central role in its electi...

04/11/2024

Announcing the Winners of the RE:Vision Effects Raffle, Week 2!

Announcing the Winners of the RE:Vision Effects Raffle, Week 2! Brie Clayton November 4, 2024 0 Comments The results are in for week 2 of the RE:Visio...

04/11/2024

CBS Stations Debut AR/VR Presidential Election Center

An ambitious effort to develop and deploy AR/VR technologies at CBS' owned stations will be taking center stage on Nov. 5 in five markets, when CBS Stations...

04/11/2024

Hong Kong's RTHK Finds Paris Olympics Streaming Success with Mediatech, Vindral

Hong Kong's RTHK Finds Paris Olympics Streaming Success with Mediatech, Vind...

04/11/2024

A Perfect Storm? The Cloud and the Future of Remote Production

A Perfect Storm? The Cloud and the Future of Remote Production Leaders from FOX Sports, Grass Valley, NEP VISTA Worldlink, and Riedel Communications dissect thi...

04/11/2024

SVG Rewind: ESPN's NHL Frozen Frenzy Delivers a Whip-around Show at Breakneck Speed

SVG Rewind: ESPN's NHL Frozen Frenzy Delivers a Whip-around Show at Breaknec...

04/11/2024

SVG Esports Production Summit 2024: Riot Games to Make In-Depth Presentation on Its New Seattle-Area Remote Broadcast Center

SVG Esports Production Summit 2024: Riot Games to Make In-Depth Presentation on ...

04/11/2024

The Final Bell: Production Begins for the Third and Final Season of Heartbreak High'

Back to All News The Final Bell: Production Begins for the Third and Final Seas...

04/11/2024

Netflix Announces Release of the Documentary 'Avicii - I'm Tim' and Avicii's Last Show From Ibiza's Ushuaa

Back to All News Netflix Announces Release of the Documentary Avicii - I'm ...

04/11/2024

Give AI a Look: Any Industry Can Now Search and Summarize Vast Volumes of Visual Data

Enterprises and public sector organizations around the world are developing AI a...

03/11/2024

ALL ABOARD Get On Track with Atelieres Game Show-style Se...

Ateliere Creative Technologies, a leading GenAI media software solutions company, today announced the launch of its innovative game show series, "On Track Wit...

03/11/2024

Pixel Power Makes New Appointments to Support Expansion

Following the launch of an updated brand identity and corresponding restructure, Pixel Power, a Rohde & Schwarz company, is now pleased to announce several sign...

03/11/2024

Skandha recruits new VP of Business and Growth in strateg...

Industry veteran Jim Oakes to boost brand awareness and spearhead company growth as major partnerships continue to form between US sports leagues and streaming ...

03/11/2024

Ikegami UHL-X40 Ultra-Compact Camera plus IPX-100 IP Gate...

Ikegami's UHL-X40 Ultra-Compact camera, IPX-100 IP gateway and OCP-500 camera control unit will make their Japanese market debut at Inter BEE 2024, Makuhari...

03/11/2024

Disguise Platform Storms New Heights at the Top of the Ro...

Disguise, an immersive technology leader with 20 years of experience in live installations for some of the world's most iconic venues including the Burj Kha...

03/11/2024

SATIS 2024 - Leader to showcase leading Test and Measurem...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced that it will showcase both Leader and PHABRIX instruments at this year's SATIS exp...

03/11/2024

X Games Chooses Frequency To Power FAST Channel for Globa...

Action sports property X Games is entering the streaming television market with a new FAST channel by partnering with Frequency, a global leader in creating and...

02/11/2024

Release Rundown: What to Watch in November, From A Real Pain to Porcelain War

Writer-director Jesse Eisenberg (R) stars alongside Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain, winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2024 Sund...

02/11/2024

Stories that matter: How to engage AANHPI audiences through different news narratives

News changes everything For a long time, the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, a...

02/11/2024

The Media Rating Council approves incorporating first-party data integration into Nielsen's National Television Measurement

The Approval of Nielsen's Integration of the National Panel and First-Party ...

02/11/2024

CBS Owned Stations Go Virtual To Reinvent News

Visitors to the CBS News and Stations-owned KPIX-KPYX San Francisco will find a bustling local news operation producing 60 hours of local news each week that ha...

02/11/2024

Weigel's WMLW to Air Milwaukee Bucks Games

MILWAUKEE Weigel Broadcasting has announced a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks to broadcast the NBA team's games for the second consecutive season....

02/11/2024

Trump Sues CBS over Editing of Harris Interview

Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a jury trial and $10 billion in damages against CBS over...

02/11/2024

CBS Stations Debuts AR/VR Presidential Election Center

An ambitious effort to develop and deploy AR/VR technologies at CBS' owned stations will be taking center stage on Nov. 5 in five markets, when CBS Stations...

02/11/2024

Chaos Releases V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max

Chaos Releases V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max Brie Clayton November 1, 2024 0 Comments Photorealistic Renderer Adds First Native Support for Gaussian Splats in a...

02/11/2024

Berklee's Signature Series Presents Singers Showcase: One Sweet Day-The Music of Mariah Carey

Berklee's Signature Series Presents Singers Showcase: One Sweet Day-The Musi...

02/11/2024

What If the Game of Thrones Theme Was Surf Rock? This TikToker Has the Answer

What If the Game of Thrones Theme Was Surf Rock? This TikToker Has the Answer Guitarist and TikTok user Cloudchord puts his spin on the epic theme music, orig...

02/11/2024

Mariah Carey Set the Standard for What a Christmas Album Could Be

Mariah Carey Set the Standard for What a Christmas Album Could Be The New York Times spoke with Berklees Maureen McMullan about Mariah Careys lasting impact o...

01/11/2024

CNN To Stream Election Night Coverage for Free

WASHINGTON CNN said its coverage plans for Election Night next Tuesday (Nov. 5) will include around-the-clock special coverage from the CNN Election Center in W...

01/11/2024

Fox Sports: Total World Series Viewing Up 67%

NEW YORK Fox Sports is reporting large audience numbers for the 2024 World Series and its coverage of the postseason, as 18.6 million viewers across Fox, Fox De...

01/11/2024

Boris FX Brings Greater ML Power to Continuum's VFX Toolkit

Boris FX Brings Greater ML Power to Continuum's VFX Toolkit Jessie Electa Petrov November 1, 2024 0 Comments The 2025 release adds instant, accura...

01/11/2024

Joseph Kahn's Frantic Horror Film Ick Completed with Full Blackmagic Design Workflow

Joseph Kahn's Frantic Horror Film Ick Completed with Full Blackmagic Design ...

01/11/2024

Samba TV Acquires Semasio

SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV said it has acquired Semasio, a contextual targeting and audience data-solutions provider that will strengthen the company's ability ...

01/11/2024

6 Entravision Stations Add AccuWeather's StoryTeller+

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. AccuWeather said Spanish-language broadcaster Entravision Communications has purchased six of its StoryTeller+ Display Systems to enhance its...

01/11/2024

Comcast Explores Spinoff of Cable Networks

PHILADELPHIA As Comcast reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results, executives told analysts the company is considering spinning off its cabl...

01/11/2024

Cosm Selects Detroit as Home of its Fourth Experiential Entertainment Venue

Cosm Selects Detroit as Home of its Fourth Experiential Entertainment Venue By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Friday, November 1, 2024 - 9:46 am Prin...

01/11/2024

Superpower Comedy Series The WONDERfools' Confirmed for Production

Back to All News Superpower Comedy Series The WONDERfools' Confirmed for Production Entertainment 01 November 2024 GlobalSouth Korea Link copied to cl...

01/11/2024

The Holidays Start Now on Netflix

Back to All News The Holidays Start Now on Netflix Entertainment 01 November 2024 GlobalUnited States Link copied to clipboard Slam the door shut on spook...

31/10/2024

L3Harris Redefines Battlefield Intelligence with Autonomous Ground Vehicle Prototype

In modern ground warfare, U.S. Army Reconnaissance and Security (R&S) operations...

31/10/2024

Engaging Maritime Threats, Increasing Situational Awareness with EO/IR Solutions

Whether operating in a standalone capacity or as part of a networked system-of-systems approach, the WESCAM MX -10 MS and WESCAM MX -15 MS provide maritime oper...

31/10/2024

X Games To Launch FAST Channel With Streaming Partner Frequency

LOS ANGELES Action-sports property X Games has partnered with streaming channel creator and distributor Frequency on the launch of a new free ad-supported strea...

31/10/2024

Tegna, Fubo Strike Sports-Minded Multiyear Carriage Deal

TYSONS, Va. After securing the local broadcast rights for several NHL and NBA teams, Tegna has announced that it has reached a new multiyear agreement with Fubo...

31/10/2024

Sling TV Launches Max

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Sling TV has inked an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery that will allow the Dish Network-owned virtual pay TV provider to offer Max to its ...

31/10/2024

DirecTV To Beta Test Multiview Capabilities for Election Coverage

DirecTV is planning to launch a new Election HQ hub on Nov. 4 that will streamline access to election coverage and provide users of its Gemini and Gemini Air de...

31/10/2024

NewsON App Launches on Vizio Platform

SEATTLE In the run-up to the hotly contested 2024 elections, Sinclair's free local streaming news service NewsON said its app is now available on Vizio TVs....