7 Piano Sketches

7 Piano Sketches (stylized in lowercase) is the third extended play (EP) by American musician André 3000. It was released by Epic Records on May 5, 2025. The EP, consisting of seven tracks, was recorded nearly a decade before the release of his debut studio album, New Blue Sun (2023), and was entirely recorded with either his iPhone or laptop microphone inside a sparse Texas house André 3000 and his son had lived in (with the exception of the track "Blueberry Mansions"). He was inspired to record voice memos of piano improvisations, as a piano was one of the few objects inside the home. André 3000 routinely sent these recordings to friends and family members, never intending to release them to the public.

During his appearance at the 2025 Met Gala, André 3000 surprise released 7 Piano Sketches, coinciding with his chosen outfit for the event, which featured a grand piano attached to his back. According to an interview with men's magazine GQ, André 3000 decided to release the project after spending time relistening to his old recordings, finding that they were of better quality than he had previously thought. He believed that other people might want to buy the songs as well, encouraging him to release the EP in a commercial format.

Musically, 7 Piano Sketches is an entirely instrumental project, much like André 3000's previous work as a solo artist. The only exceptions to this rule are brief samples and narrated intros; the latter are done by André 3000 himself, Emmy Paalman, or Fatima Robinson depending on the track. Excluding the outro track, "I Spend All Day Waiting for the Night", all songs solely utilize a piano in their composition. All tracks on 7 Piano Sketches are improvised, with André 3000 himself stating that he was unable to name any of the piano keys played in the songs. The use of an iPhone microphone during recording resulted in many of the tracks having a lo-fi or otherwise low quality sound compared to standard recordings, as noted by many music publications that reviewed the project.

A decade before the release on 7 Piano Sketches, André 3000 and his son Seven^[1] lived inside a small Texas home, bare of any furniture except for a piano, two beds, and a couple of TV screens.^[2] As the house was mostly empty, André 3000 had become interested in its piano, writing improvised compositions to pass the time. He sent these recordings to his family members, such as son Seven and ex-wife Erykah Badu, as well as fellow musicians Q-Tip and Tyler, the Creator.^[3]

In an interview with GQ, André 3000 shared that most of the songs on 7 Piano Sketches were recorded between 12–15 years before the EPs release. In addition, the tracks "Blueberry Mansions" and "I Spend All Day Waiting for the Night" were first written in 2000 during sessions for the Outkast album Stankonia (2000), later being recorded alongside his improvisations. In the same interview, André 3000 stated that he was inspired to release 7 Piano Sketches after relistening to multiple old compositions, finding them personally enjoyable enough to warrant a commercial release, stating: "When I listened back to 'em, I was like, this is pretty interesting. So I wanted to make a collective out of them. I think it's a cool piece of music that people might want to have in their arsenal."^[3]

7 Piano Sketches is a completely improvised piano album,^[2] with the majority of tracks being of low sound quality due to André 3000's recording techniques for this EP; most songs are recorded with an iPhone or laptop microphone. The only exception to this is the track "Blueberry Mansions", which was recorded inside of a studio.^[4] Hank Shteamer of Pitchfork felt that this gives most tracks a "grainy" sound, with audible background noise "proudly" left intact.^[5] The majority of the songs on 7 Piano Sketches solely use a piano in their composition, though the track "I Spend All Day Waiting for the Night" has one additional instrument, being a steady drum machine.^[5]

Regarding the song structures: André 3000 described them as being based on piano improvisations.^[6] He explained that his process involved spreading his fingers across the keys and moving them randomly yet deliberately until he discovered something that sounded appealing or intriguing.^[6] When he found a sequence that felt particularly good, he would attempt to repeat it.^[6] He also noted that he does not know the specific notes, keys, or chords he plays, but is instead drawn to the sound and physical mechanics of playing the piano.^[6]

In his announcement post for the project on Instagram, André 3000 cited several composers as influences, including Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Philip Glass, Stephen Sondheim, Joni Mitchell and Vince Guaraldi.^[7][6]

André 3000 released 7 Piano Sketches shortly after his appearance at the 2025 Met Gala on May 5, 2025, which featured a grand piano on his back as part of his outfit.^[8][9] The EP's cover art is a sketch of this same outfit.^[2] Along with confirming they were recorded over a decade before his debut album, New Blue Sun (2023),^[3] he stated that the recordings had originated as personal voice memos for friends and family, never intended to be shared with the public.^[4][6] He noted that the project featured "no bars", in reference to high demand from his fanbase for him to return to rapping.^[4] André 3000 has since planned to release the EP on vinyl formats, stating that "A lot of times I try to think outside of myself. Like, if I was someone else, would I want to buy this and put it in my record collection? And I totally would!"^[3]

7 Piano Sketches received mixed to positive reviews from critics. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, 7 Piano Sketches received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.^[10]

Robin Murray of Clash characterized 7 Piano Sketches as feeling insubstantial, describing it as more of a bookmark than a complete work.^[11] Hank Shteamer of Pitchfork viewed the album as part of a broader artistic experiment, exploring what occurs when an artist rejects the career-driven nature of pop music in favor of a quieter, less goal-oriented path.^[5] Teo Blake Beauchamp of PopMatters considered the release to be more of a glimpse into an evolving creative process than a fully refined project, yet one that offers valuable insight into André 3000s continuous artistic transformation.^[12] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described the album as a celebration of pure enthusiasm, portraying André 3000s spontaneous piano playing as an act of creative freedom unburdened by expectations or legacy.^[13]

All tracks are written by André Benjamin. All tracks are produced by André 3000 and Benji Bixby.

Notes

• Track titles are stylized in lowercase

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[14]

• André 3000 – composer, lyricist, producer, recording engineer, vocal producer, vocals (1–2, 4–5)
• Benji Bixby – producer
• Emmy Paalman – assistant engineer, vocals (2–4, 6)
• Fatima Robinson – vocals (3–5)
• JC Chiam – recording engineer
• Ken Oriole – recording engineer
• Johnathan "Jonny" Gorenc – assistant engineer
• Fab Dupont – mastering engineer
• Carlos Niño – vocal producer