On The Next Level
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are going to take a break from making music. During this period of time, John Frusciante finished his new CD record, The Empyrean.
This is a one-time record with a new formula for himself. “The Empyrean is a story that has no action in the physical world,” says the guitarist. “It all takes place in one persons mind throughout his life. The only other character is someone who does not live in the physical world but is inside it, in the sense that he lives in people’s minds. The mind is the only place that anything can be truly said to exist. The outside world is only known to us as it appears within us by the testimony of our senses. The imagination is the most real world that we know because we all know it first hand.”
It’s confusing but I think we’re accustomed to the things which are said by the guy who used to see ghosts: “I meant to write a clear story, which in fact is obvious to me. It’s all about your mind: there aren’t such things as the laws of nature, time, space or even certain relations… If you want to logically understand it, you will get tired and come with nothing. The lyrics were written to provide evidence of spiritual experience which is incredibely difficult to explain to someone from the outside. I wanted to create something for people to be able to identify with. For people who are or have been overwhelmed by the tangled inner world where they have to live,” stated the artist just before the premiere. Later on, he decided to tell us more about the plot: “The main character is starred by an artist who experiences a full range of ups and downs. There are dialogues taking place in his mind. Another ‘character’, if we could call it like that, is a ‘driving force’ which incessantly creates and keeps up all the existence. We can also call it an ‘energy’ that creatively drives an engine which, for us, is a brain. A term ‘my true self’ is fine, too. It’s sometimes known to us as voices from our head… The more your acts deviate from your ‘real self’, the more these voices will disturb you. They are a kind of a guide for you.” As the guitarist explains, songs such as “Song To The Siren” (orginally written by Tim Buckley) and the first half of “Dark/Light” tell a story about loneliness, “Central” is about suicide, and resurrection is seen in “One More Of Me”.
The Empyrean in Latin means “the highest sphere of heaven” which is the source of “pure thoughts and precious ideas”. The character in the music finally realises that the highest sphere is his creative potential within himself. “In this case “The Empyrean” symbolizes things in our life, which we want to reach, or which we want to be raised onto a higher level,” says Frusciante. “Those things may be out of reach for us, however there is a spark within us that makes us aim towards them, that makes us raise onto a higher level – doesn’t matter if it’s about playing an instrument or a contact with another human being…”
The work on the album began in December 2006 in his home studio located in Los Angeles, although calling it a “studio” is an overstatement. The artist lives and breathes music – he has filled his living quarters with all kind of music equipment. According to the witnesses, there were two analog Studer tape recorders in the hall, an API console (coming from the Record Plant’s studio), an analog Doepfer synthesizer and a set of guitar effects in the bedroom. There was a piano and some other keyboard instruments in a dining room, and in a living room we could see guitars, an Alesis Digital Audio Tape and an AMS Neve console… Frusciante says that his approach towards recording (with the help of Ryan Hewitt and Adam Samuels) is completely opposed to what Rick Rubin does in Red Hot Chili Peppers. “None of the albums I’ve made with the Chilis sound good to me. They always differ from my point of music view but I guess it’s alright. I used to think it could be cool to cover singing and all the rest with guitar sound, though it didn’t happen… A part of Rick’s approach is to focus on singing, which in fact you can’t cover at all. And that’s good. I respect him, I think he has a great sense of musical balance. He inspires me because a lot of things on my solo records, especially the last record, are a contrast to everything what I like in his work.” Frusciante says that the inconsistent emotions pulling the character described in the plot are turned up in music. “We have continuous transitions here from a gloomy bottom to the top, and then from the top to the bottom… The singing changes, I’ve tried to make every song differently so each track has its own mood and character. The fact I was alone during recordings was quite helpful. It’s then much easier to work, to have some attempts where each next is done more comfortably/enjoyably. It’s a complete contrary of working with a producer. You have to struggle with all the humiliation and frustration during the record of new versions,” explains John. “Focusing on constant changes so the sounds don’t sound monotonously. This is the kind of sound I have been interested in for some time. I’d wanted to do the same on “Stadium Arcadium” but some people and different opinions have made me not attain its end, notwithstanding I’ve wished for it…”
During all the efforts, Josh Klinghoffer (keyboard instruments and drums) and Flea (obviously bass guitar) were helping the guitarist. “There’s no intense verbal communication when I’m working with Josh. He understands my music and knows where it comes from… I like letting him do his own things and then find them out in a mix. Johnny Marr is another guest, known from The Smiths. We had one night when he was on a tour with Modest Mouse,” recalls John. “He listend to some songs and jammed for a few hours. Only in the stage of mixing we were trying to find out how to put his part of music into the structure of the song. Anyway, it was our approach towards every composition – record loads of tracks and decide which of them match during mixing.”
Since Flea he’s been mentioned – let’s see what the rest of Red Hot Chili Peppers musicians are doing. The bassist has joined a school. Specifically: academy, University Of Southern California. He studies a theory of music, composition and a jazz trumpet. “When I was a kid and there was a time for me to go to a collage I was thinking: “Academy is for people who doesn’t feel the rhythm of streets, who are self-learners. Join a band, sit into a delivery van and play rock.” During that time it was quite a philosophy for me but I wanted to learn many things and that’s what I’m doing right now.” 47 years old musician is the oldest student in the campus. “At the begining there were strange look but everyone was busy studying. Of course there happened to be a few autographs or something like that, but that’s beside the question. It’s a matter of learning, immersion of music. I’m just a normal student who tries to achieve some knowledge.”
Anthony Kiedis is preparing a TV serial for HBO which is based on his childhood which he has described in his autobiography. “Scar Tissue” is a preliminary title of the project which won’t be an exact interpretation of the book. Kiedis and his father (Blackie Dammett) prepare new memories for the movie. Their relations from 30 years ago are going to become an axis of the story. “He has showed me the world of art, an amazing life of artists,” says the vocalist. “Though, a part of this were difficult, adult things which I couldn’t understand. These times were really awesome but also full of some challenges. I was put into an adulthood at the age of 11… The movie has to truly reflect a rock environment of the 70’s. My father has really gotten involved into it. Our contact which relies on reconstruction of these memories – girls, bands, bouncers in clubs – is exciting. Kiedis considers being a narrator or occasionally taking part on the screen. Now some disturbing things: there appeared an information of the vocalist having a serious illness of kidneys at the end of 2008.
The main field of Chad Smith’s activity is a Chickenfoot group lead by Sammy Hagar. Except that there are Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony in the band. These guys got to know each other because they own properties in Mexican Cabo San Lucas. “If you’re in Cabo you have to know Sammy because it’s the place he rules. It’s really a great and nice guy. He kind of liked me, we played in Vegas some concerts – we’re a good cover band. He was excited because it really sounded good. He met Joe, wrote a few tracks and we’ll see what will happen. According to Sammy the CD is “energetic, kicking ass rock’ n’ roll” and has already been mixing. The premiere yet this year!
And what about Red Hot Chili Peppers? As Flea says the break in activity is supposed to last 2 years – we’re in a half, then. Frusciante is less optimistic: “I can say I have no future plans right now. The band is having a break for an unknown time. We’ve been working really hard for the past 10 years – there are more important things in life.”
РBartek Koziczy̱ski
