In his lifetime, the man known as Flea has done a great many things. For the past 42 years or so, his bass wizardry has been on full display in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea has also lent his instrumental prowess to a great many other acts, including Atoms For Peace, Johnny Cash, the Mars Volta, Tom Waits, Alanis Morissette, and Young MC. He’s on “Bust A Move”! He was in Fear for a little while! He’s in The Big Lebowski and My Own Private Idaho and the second and third Back To The Future pictures! He has been onstage in his underwear many, many times! Through all his adventures, however, Flea has never released a solo album. There was a 2012 solo EP, but no album. That’s about to change.
Before Flea mastered the bass as a very young man, his primary instrument was the trumpet. Recently, there’s been scuttlebutt about how Flea has returned to that instrument lately. When he revealed that he no longer detests the Red Hot Chili Peppers earlier this year, Nick Cave told a story about how Flea protected some friends by speaking calmly to a wild bear. That was some crazy shit. Cave also mentioned that he recorded some vocals for a “trumpet record” that Flea was making. The trumpet record is real, and it’s coming next year on Nonesuch.
We don’t yet know the title of Flea’s forthcoming solo debut, but its first single is out now, and it looks like it’ll be a big statement. Flea recorded his new single “A Plea” with jazz saxophonist Josh Jonson, who alsoand plays alto sax on the track and adds some vocals. Flea himself wrote “A Plea.” He’s the lead vocalist on the track, and he plays trumpet and electric bass. Other featured musicians include Tortoise’s Jeff Parker on guitar, Atoms For Peace’s Mauro Refosco on percussion, Rickey Wasington (Kamasi’s father) on alto flute, Deantoni Sparks on drums, Anna Butterss on double bass, Vikram Devasthali on trombone, and Chris Warren on backup chant vocals.
“A Plea” is a striking, vivid, memorable track. The first thing that we hear is Flea’s bass, and then it explodes into a twisty, energetic jazz song. Flea’s voice comes in after a few minutes, and he’s got things to say. His delivery is somewhere between Sun Ra-style chanting and hardcore-frontman ranting. His lyrics are about he he feels civil war coming in the air and he doesn’t care about your fuckin’ politics. Eventually, “A Plea” turns into an actual plea to “live for peace, live for love” and to “see the god in everyone.”
In a press release, Flea says, “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.”
The video for “A Plea” is nearly as striking as the song itself. Flea’s daughter Clara Balzary directed the clip, and she films her colorfully dressed 63-year-old father as he goes into a complicated, energetic dance routine inside and outside of a soundstage, sometimes with a mob of little kids. This is a passion project in every sense of the term. Watch the video below.
Flea’s as-yet-untitled solo debut is coming next year on Nonesuch.
Clara Balzary
