Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante announces new electronic double album ‘I’ and ‘II’
John Frusciante has shared details of a double electronic music album, ‘I’ and ‘II’.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist is releasing two versions of the record. ‘I’ (pronounced “one”) features seven tracks on vinyl while ‘II’ (pronounced “two”) features a higher number of songs for CD and digital formats.
There is a bonus track on ‘I’ that doesn’t feature on the CD/digital version but overall there are fewer songs because “some of the tracks have sounds that cannot be pressed on vinyl”.
It’s not clear if ‘I’ and ‘II’ together make up a double album or if each version is a double album in itself. A tracklist is yet to be released.
‘I’ and ‘II’ will arrive via Avenue 66, a sub label of Acid Test Records, in early 2023.
Frusciate said in a statement (via Mixmag): “After a year and a half writing and recording rock music, I needed to clear my head. I listened to and made music where things generally happen gradually rather than suddenly.
“I would set up patches on a Monomachine or Analog Four and listen to them, hearing one sound morph into others, making changes to a patch only after having listened for quite a while, gradually adding elements, and finally manipulating the sounds on the fly.”
He continued: “Music being a solitary sculpture in sonic space was the main motivating thought. I was looking at pictures of sculptures and trying to make music that simultaneously conveyed both movement and stillness.
“I’ve been listening to music like this since I was 13 or so, but I felt that making it was out of my reach because of the amount of restraint I imagined it required. Once I found myself making this music, it did not feel like a matter of restraint at all.
“The music seeks to just exist, and is not attempting to manipulate or grab the listener in any way. I believe it works well if one listens loud and focuses on it, but also works well at soft volumes and in the background.”
Frusciante released his latest solo album, ‘Maya’, in 2020. ‘I’ and ‘II’ will mark his 12th and 13th solo albums.
Meanwhile, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced a 2023 tour of North America, the UK and Europe, with The Strokes, Iggy Pop and more all set to support.
The band, who returned in 2022 with two new albums – ‘Unlimited Love’ and follow-up ‘Return Of The Dream Canteen’ – will continue their global tour from next March, which will see them head out on a run of dates which begin in Vancouver, Canada.
North American dates run until the end of May, before the band head to the UK and Europe in June.
Tickets for all dates go on sale on Friday, December 9 at 10am local time. Buy UK tickets here and buy North American and European tickets here.
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Charlotte Krol
NME
