“Brand E” is the name of John Frusciante’s latest single from his upcoming instrumental electronic album Maya. The full album is due October 23 via Venetian Snares’ Timesig record label.
The bubbly bassline and drum and bass inspired groove keep the new track upbeat with some atmospheric pads on top. Two drum breaks keep listeners on their toes as the song builds, and it climaxes with the electronic equivalent of a guitar solo.
A music video directed by Amalía Irons shows Frusciante on a night lit by city lights and lasers as a woman with all-white contact lenses follows him from a distance. There’s also a cat that plays the role of Frusciante’s late cat Maya, to whom the album is dedicated. Overlapping video documents Frusciante using a pair of binoculars to guide himself away from the city to the ocean.
“Amethblowl” and “Usbrup Pensul” are the other two singles released in advance of Maya. Both of them are a little more rhythmically complex than “Brand E” but similar texturally. Neither was released with a music video, but since “Brand E” is set to be the opener on the album and the video featured the cat the album’s named after, it’s possible that Frusciante thinks of “Brand E” as the right track to double as a tribute to her. Frusciante doesn’t specifically say anything about it, but there’s also footage of the real Maya included in the video after the music finishes.
Maya will be Frusciante’s second album this year, after She Smiles Because She Presses the Button, an IDM album that he released as his Trickfinger alias in June. There’s also been confirmation that Frusciante is working on recording a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album now that he has rejoined the band. It’s been over thirteen years since they had last recorded together, for Stadium Arcadium.
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