André 3000 has been interviewed by Nardwuar, sharing his thoughts on flutes and flute playing, Tyler the Creator, possibly reviving his Cartoon Network show Class of 3000, and more.
The interview was held at Camp Flog Gnaw in Los Angeles last month, and in true Nardwuar fashion, it kicked off right off the bat with a gift for André: a vinyl copy of Haida & Paul Horn, an album featuring a flutist doing a meditative, quasi-duet with an Orca whale.
Speaking about Horn, André made a distinction between himself and more traditional flutists. “People have called New Blue Sun a ‘flute album,’ [but] New Blue Sun is more than a flute album,” he told Nardwuar. “I do play flutes on there, but Paul Horn is an actual flute player. So, if you want to look up a ‘flute album,’ Paul Horn is the guy.”
Continuing, André also noted that “most” of the flutes he plays are either wooden or bamboo, but that he’s currently “learning to play classical” concert flute, and actually got one custom made so that he could play it straight down instead of the usual, side-held transverse flute style. He also shared that he likes to play flute wherever he can, including in taxi cabs or out and about in the world.
Nardwuar then prompted André to share that Beastie Boys’ Mike D played a role in kicking off his flute era, by way of introducing him to producer Carlos Niño during a chance encounter at a grocery store. Sparking a creative relationship, André and Niño began jamming and eventually collaborated on New Blue Sun, which Niño co-produced.
Elsewhere in the interview, Nardwuar asked about what playing at Camp Flog Gnaw was like, to which André replied: “I’m happy that [Tyler the Creator] gave us the chance to play. It’s kinda like, we’re playing this instrumental music at this festival with all these young’uns, and they were with it.”
Speaking about Tyler directly, André said, “I’m a supporter of Tyler. He has a certain energy and attracts a certain energy, so I’m happy to support that.” He then brought up Tyler again when asked about his 2006 Cartoon Network show Class of 3000, saying “My very first conversation with Tyler we were on the phone and he said ‘I know all the songs from Class of 3000.’ I was like, ‘Woah, for real? You remember those songs?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ Tyler knows music, man.”
When asked if it was hard to make a cartoon show like Class of 3000, André replied that it was fun to produce the songs and voice the characters, and revealed that he actually revisited the series and watched a few episodes recently. Then, hinting that something is in the works, he said, “We’re hoping to do something new with it, in some type of way. So, stay tuned.”
Other topics touched on during the interview were early Atlanta hip-hop acts — like Silk Tymes Leather, The Hard Boys, Javier & the Str8jackers, and more — plus some conversations around OutKast promotional products, oboes, and the importance of getting your teeth cleaned. Watch the full interview below.
In other André 3000 news, he recently released a new companion EP dubbed Moving Day, and contributed a new song to TRAИƧA, the compilation album spearheaded by the activist and music production non-profit Red Hot.