Flea has a simple, come together now message on his first-ever solo single: “live for peace, live for love.” The simple, open-hearted plea comes more than five minutes into the nearly eight-minute song “A Plea,” which dropped on Tuesday morning (Dec. 2).
The free jazz/spoken word jam is the first taste of the hyperkinetic Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist’s upcoming, as yet untitled, debut full-length solo album, which is due out next year on Nonesuch Records. Though best known for his bass-thumping in the Chili Peppers, Flea returns to his first instrument, the trumpet, on the album a release described as filled with a “dream band of modern jazz visionaries.” Additional details about the albums guests and track list will be announced early next year.
In the meantime, Flea dropped the high-energy video for “A Plea,” which was directed by his eldest daughter, 37-year-old photographer Clara Balzary. In the visual, Flea performs a series of modern dance-style moves in a blank space, walking in slow motion, shaking his head and arms, punching the air, flailing his torso, shaking his butt and patting his belly along to the song’s uptempo jazz groove.
The song, written and performed by Flea, features his work on electric bass, trumpet and Gil Scott-Heron-like spoken word-style vocals, including such provocative lyrics as “Who’s your neighbor, who’s your friend?/ Ahh there’s hate all around/ I don’t care about your f–king politics/ I don’t wanna hear about your politics/ Well, he said boo/ She said hooray.”
As the tempo increases to a frantic pace, Flea laments that the “beautiful kids” are scared of the coming “ugly” and of guns, making a plea for “peace and love” while confirming that hate is never the solution. He’s joined on the track by double bassist Anna Butterss (Boygenius), guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise), drummer Deantoni Parks (We Are Dark Angels), percussionist Mauro Refosco (David Byrne), alto flutist Rickey Washington and trombonist Vikram Devasthali (Angel Olsen), with additional vocals by Chris Warren (The DX Band) and the song’s producer, Josh Johnson (Leon Bridges), who also plays alto sax.
In a statement, Flea, 63, described the song’s lyrics as reflective of the divisiveness in our country and world right now and yearning for “a place beyond, a place of love, for me to speak my mind and be myself. I’m always just trying to be myself… I don’t care about the act of politics. I think there is a much more transcendent place above it where there’s discourse to be had that can actually help humanity, and actually help us all to live harmoniously and productively in a way that’s healthy for the world. There’s a place where we meet, and it’s love.”
While Flea has been slappin’ the bass with the Chili Peppers since 1982, he’s also contributed to a number of supergroups, including Radiohead singer Thom Yorke’s Atoms For Peace, as well as sitting in with everyone from the Circle Jerks to Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Alanis Morissette, Nirvana and Jane’s Addiction. He’s also long had a sideline acting and making cameos in films and TV shows, including Back to the Future Pt. II, My Own Private Idaho, Inside Out 2, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Baby Driver, The Big Lebowski and Obi-Wan Kenobi, among many others.
Watch the video for “A Plea” below.
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