John interview from the Outsides’ Japanese edition booklet now available.
As we have learnt so many times before, the microcosm we’re a part of, the small world around John Frusciante’s albums and other releases and contributions is pretty confusing and a lot of things remain smoke and mirrors; for whatever reason.
However, whether this interview conduced by Hashim Barucha attached to the booklet of the Japanese release of Outsides later surfaces as a blog entry or not; it’s an incredible read and it’s (presumably) the first time John has said anything to the press in four years, therefore it’s important.
Here’s an excerpt, with a link to read the entire thing below.
I’ve spent almost my entire life learning music from records. Over the past 30 years more than anything else that’s how I’ve spent my time. By doing so I was able to learn about a lot of different musical genres.
During the time of my last return to The Red Hot Chili Peppers (hereinafter referred to as RHCP), I played guitar a lot while listening to synth-pop, 90’s rave music, hip-hop and computer-based electronic music. While playing guitar along with that kind of music, I found the use of samples and electronic instruments was a completely different approach from guitar playing. The guitar player and the electronic music producer make songs with completely different thought processes and do not combine notes in the same way. For me, playing a rock guitar solo and writing an excellent rock song is something I can do without thinking. The challenge had unfortunately gone away.
But the electronic music of the past 30 years’ new rhythm and phrasing, how it gave birth to a new way of breaking down each measure…well for me this was an unknown world. Despite being an experienced guitarist I could not understand the thought process behind Autechre, Venetian Snares and Aphex Twin. Even if I could reproduce their songs on guitar I could not create similar music myself. The way they combined notes was unfathomable to me. When Aphex Twin’s “Analord” series was released, it was for me on par with the landmark Beatles’ release “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. I felt like this was an unknown world that was now a possibility for me to explore. For me this was a new type of funk music.
Read the entire interview on its dedicated page and feel free to discuss the heck of it as usual. The original is, once again, available at ele-king and in the booklet of the Japanese release of the Outsides EP. Many thanks to Ed Gallagher for having been a star to translate this.
