Enigmatic former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has released 18 separate tracks of experimental music free to the public. In an email sent to all members of his website (http://johnfrusciante.com/) and issued on the said website, John said that he has released these tracks in response to the media twisting his words when he said that he ‘had no audience’. John had this to say on the matter:
“I also must clear something up. I normally don’t read my press, but I heard about this quote, recently taken out of context by some lame website and made into a headline, in which I said “I have no audience”. This has been misinterpreted, and by no fault of the excellent journalist who interviewed me for the fine publication Electronic Beats. Ever since I quit my old band in 2008, I have made music specifically to learn and to make the music which I want to hear, without an audience in mind. Nevertheless, between 2008 and 2013, every time I recorded a track, I sent it to Aaron Funk and Chris McDonald who are my Speed Dealer Moms bandmates, and often to a few other friends. Early on in this period, I realized that whoever I sent my music to or played my music for had become my “audience”, ie the people who I aimed my music at. “
All 18 of his new tracks can be found on his soundcloud page, which can be found here.
Even during his time with the massively successful Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante was always somewhat different, always looking for different ways to diversify the music being played whilst still exploring and expanding upon his own musical ability, which of course is seemingly limitless.
John left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009 shortly after the release of their arguably most mainstream album ‘Stadium Arcadium’ a far cry from their original releases like ‘One Hot Minute’ and ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’. However this did not come as a great shock, with John having been releasing his own independent music since the early 90s, having left the Red Hot Chili Peppers once before in 1992.
John continued in his email to his fans to thank them for listening to his music and allowing him to continue to create such unique tracks:
“In mainstream industry jargon, an artist who has a small audience is said to have “no audience”. I’ve always despised that expression, because it implies that audiences with uncommon taste are nonentities, rather than actual people. I certainly do not talk that way. I love people, and do not like to see them devalued. I’m glad that the people who continue to follow what I do have kept their minds active and open. And I’m pleased that rock fans are not the only people listening to what I’ve done. Thank you all for existing.”
John’s independent releases have seen him cover such a wide amount of genres, from avante-garde psychadelic rock in ‘Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt’, to basic acoustic rock with ‘Curtains’. His recent releases show further versatility from the musician, covering a great deal of electronic music, incorporating themes of acid house, IDM and synthpop.
A full list of the track titles and lengths can be found below:
1. Genex 44 – 04:45
2. Singular Scope 85 – 05:39
3. Motiern 58 – 03:33
4. Hew Brenderson – 06:08
5. Unending 126 mix – 04:24
6. Culminate – 04:07
7. 90/180 – 06:09
8. Anea 18 – 01:52
9. Untitled 1 mix 3 !! – 01:55
10. Untitled 2 mix 4(loud guitars) !! – 03:24
11. Untitled 3 mix 2 !! – 02:55
12. Untitled 4 mix 4 !! – 04:39
13. Untitled 5 mix 2 !! – 03:14
14. Venice May 1 mix 4 – 02:50
15. Zone (Guitar and Vocal) – 3:36
16. Sect in Sgt – 20:49
17. Fight for Love – 03:01
18. Medre – 03:26
Find one of my many favourite releases by him below:
