Guitarist, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes made a return to his native Chile this year, forming a trio with brothers Cote and Felo Foncea. Their first track “Luna A Sol,” featuring fellow multi-instrumentalist and Faith No More front-man Mike Patton, debuted on the Chilean radio station Mundo Sonar on August 9.
According to Alternative Nation, the track is going to be released on streaming platforms today however, as of press time, it is only officially available in its original broadcast form. An unofficial rip of this track can be found below.
“Luna A Sol,” which roughly translates to “Moon to Sun,” is Johannes first composition entirely in Spanish, featuring guitar riffs reminiscent of the 1990’s grunge era, mixed in with an atmospheric tone. Patton contributes secondary vocals to the track, giving the song an eerie feeling during its bridges and chorus.
Johannes was born in Santiago, Chile back in 1962, before moving across the world as a child; living in Zurich, Switzerland and Mexico City. At the age of 12 the musician settled down in Los Angeles, California attending Fairfax High School with other notable rock stars, such as Flea and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, along with Slash and Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses fame.
In an interview with blogger Bianca Valentino in 2017, Johannes expressed interest in doing an album entirely in Spanish. “I’ve actually started to write poetry in Spanish. It was [sic] my second language,” Johannes told Valentino.
This upcoming release by the Alain Johannes trio will be recorded in Santiago, Chile, which is also the birthplace of Foncea brothers. Cote is drummer who has worked with the group Lucybell while, Felo is vocalist and guitarist who has spent time as a solo musician. Johannes has been working with the brothers since at least 2013.
As a long time musician and record producer, Johannes has worked with a variety of acts, including: Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, The Arctic Monkeys and the recently departed Chris Cornell. In 2015 he joined up with Mark Lanegan, of Screaming Trees, along with Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, as the super-group Ten Commandos.
Patton has recently explored numerous musical ventures since announcing Faith No More’s hiatus back in 2017. In July the singer released the 1922 Soundtrack, which was composed for the 2017 horror film of the same name.
Earlier this month one of Patton’s projects Dead Cross released an additional video clip for their track “Church of The Motherfuckers (Planet B Remix).” This followed the group’s acoustic cover of the Bauhuas’ classic “Bella Lugosi’s Dead,” in July.
Outside of Dead Cross the singer also has a few major live performances coming up, including David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption at the Ace Hotel, in Los Angeles, California this October. Patton sits on the lineup alongside Wu-Tang Clan producer and founder RZA, producer DJ Qbert and guitarist Dylan Carlson.
UPDATE (8/19): The posting of the new song has been pulled from the internet, but you can hear it below. Fast forward to the 25:30 mark in the video below for the premiere of the new song:
UPDATE (9/10): An official stream of the song has finally been made available. Check it out below:
UPDATE (10/18): The group has released a new music video for the track featuring Patton, via Ipecac Recordings.
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