Back before he was the prolific bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea got his start playing trumpet. Now, after nearly 50 years of making music, he is returning to his jazz roots with his first solo album, Honora, out March 27 via Nonesuch. Ringing in the news is his new single “Traffic Lights,” which was co-written with Thom Yorke and Josh Johnson, and gets an animated video by Nespy5euro. Check it out below.
“Something about it reminded me of Atoms for Peace, so I sent it to Thom,” Flea said in a statement, adding that the Radiohead frontman is “just the warmest, free flowing, jamming motherfucker.”
Named after a beloved family member, Honora was composed and arranged entirely by Flea, with him handling bass and trumpet throughout its 10 songs — including the previously released “A Plea.” Helping him bring his vision to life are a smattering of jazz stars and rock musicians: aforementioned producer and saxophonist Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Deantoni Parks, vocals from Yorke and Nick Cave, and additional parts by Atoms for Peace’s Mauro Refosco and Bright Eyes’ Nate Walcott.
This spring, Flea will take his solo album out on the road with a backing band. The tour starts on May 7 in Chicago and brings Flea and his Honora band across select cities in the United States, Canada, Germany, England, France, and the Netherlands. The brief run ends on May 28 in Paris. Find the complete list of tour dates below.
Red Hot Chili Peppers have been busy these past few years, releasing two albums—Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen—in 2022 alone, but Flea keeps a booked schedule of his own while not on tour with his band. In addition to being a published memoirist and an actor in blockbuster movies, he’s also got his own podcast, This Little Light. His debut solo EP, Helen Burns, came out in 2012.
Revisit the Sunday Review of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
Honora:
01 Golden Wingship
02 A Plea
03 Traffic Lights
04 Frailed
05 Morning Cry
06 Maggot Brain
07 Wichita Lineman
08 Thinkin Bout You
09 Willow Weep for Me
10 Free As I Want to Be
Flea:
05-07 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
05-09 Toronto, Ontario – The Opera House
05-10 Montreal, Quebec – Théâtre Beanfield
05-12 New York, NY – Webster Hall
05-13 Washington, D.C. – Black Cat
05-16 Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
05-21 Berlin, Germany – Heimathafen
05-22 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
05-26 London, England – Koko
05-28 Paris, France – Alhambra
