Sometimes You Release an Improvisational Flute Record
Some inspiration to take from Andre 3000 and his new musical experimentation (and of course, beyond).
I want to talk about the things that bring me hope.
This morning, I woke up to the news that Andre 3000 will be releasing a brand new record of instrumental, immersive, improvisational flute music on his first musical release in 17 years. The first single and track on the record will be titled: I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.
The way the wind blew me this time. Damn.
Even just the title of the song stops me in my tracks.
All artistic creators understand the pressure of having to quickly describe your style, your influence, your “genre” to artistic receivers, that believe boxes will help them get closer to understanding, rather than farther away. Andre 3000 has always been a walking model of defiance to categorization, and he’s continued to live his life on his own terms. While changing locations, exploring revolving sets of collaborators, making things and failing at things, he discovered something new that surprised even himself. In a reflective interview with NPR, Andre talks about how he got to the place of being ready to release not only brand new, but completely unexpected music:
Living. It’s not even like a magical thing. My training was living. My direction was living…
I’m always in on the joke. So don’t ever think that I don’t know how people think or look at me in a certain way. I understand. If I was on the outside, I would feel the same way. So, for me, I don’t know what I’m going to do. But that’s the cool and scary thing about it. And I think as an artist, you kind of got to put yourself out there to be prepared to respond. I’m a responding person. That’s what I am. I’m responding to what’s given to me. It’s responding to my contemporaries. It’s responding to what I love. It’s responding to what I don’t like. It’s responding to all of that.
Andre had no intention of making an experimental flute record, but he stumbled into the right connection at just the right moment in alt-jazz producer Carlos Niño. Within a few hours of meeting, they were jamming in Niño’s basement. Andre voiced that this was something that felt unique and authentic in a way he wanted to document, and Niño knew exactly what players to connect him with for recording.
I truly believe that if you lead from an understanding of yourself first, your direction will take you where you need to go.
At one point in the interview, Andre shares that, of course he felt the extreme pressure to put out a new rap project or song for his fans (hence the title of his first single), but in the end, it never felt right because “if I’m not satisfied with what it is I just don’t put it out.”
Being in a financially stable enough place to make discerning choices about your creative output is a rare place to be in, but I think even when restricted choices are having to be made, we can still choose the direction that is truest to what we know about ourselves. The key is being open to having what we know about ourselves- expand. Personally, I made a difficult at first decision to separate my main source of income from my musical path, because I wanted to always be open to experimentation. I wanted to create reflections of wherever the wind blew me.
In my own creative life, I have learned to let my voice be the constant in my three full length records, that flow between “indie-rock”, “electronic pop” and “singer-songwriter.” Sometimes I get comments from listeners that they can’t pin me down, and I get self conscious at the idea of spanning so many different players and genres. Will it make me sound like I don’t know who I am at all? It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I started to realize, I’m like this because I know exactly who I am. I am also ever changing, flowing, and influenced by the people, sounds, emotions, and circumstances around me. Why would I attempt to fit everything I create into one sound or one definition, when I know that who I am and who I aspire to be will always be bursting outside of that?
I also cannot help but connect these lessons to our professional lives and professional journeys. I work in the video game industry, where in 2023 alone, over 6,000 game developers have been laid off despite a record breaking year of financial success for some of the biggest players. These mass layoffs are going to have echoes of consequences in the professional direction of brilliant minds for decades to come. Our industry is going lose incredible talent, because not everyone can afford to wait for an opportunity that appreciates their worth. I think about my friends who are musicians, but have felt continuously betrayed by a vampiric music industry that continuously chooses to fill the pockets of the most rich, rather than even put food on the table for the people that have selflessly enriched our lives so deeply.
I want to say, to my friends that are exploring careers, and exploring what direction to take next, don’t be afraid to tune into your gut, and follow what you do know to be true. Present yourself proudly and authentically, so that you can be a lighthouse that attracts the people you will want to meet, learn from, vibe with, create with.
Maybe for a little while, or even an extended period, you will find yourself in a completely different industry with a job that doesn’t reflect what you thought you knew about yourself. That doesn’t mean you lose sight of who you are, what you love, and what you want to put into the world. Maybe it will even expand your possibilities and introduce you to a new path you had no idea existed in the first place.
Maybe, just maybe, you will make your own flute album.
Greetings!
My name is Alex Lockhart, and I am a people loving, culture building, music making, curiosity driven human living and writing in the Pacific Northwest. When I’m not singing songs as Cumulus, I work professionally in the video game industry, and I have a lot of thoughts about the evolution and process of creating a fulfilling life. I talk a lot about career paths, creative processes, and the general roller coaster existence of being a multi-passionate woman trying to do too many things at once.
Hello from Three Imaginary Girls
Calling all fans of indie-pop, Brit-pop, lo-fi, and general music fun! Three Imaginary Girls is looking for writers and readers, and we’d love to have you join us. Come by and say hello!
