Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante announced in a note posted on his website that he has both a new EP and a full length set for release this year.
Marking Frusciante's first solo releases in three years, the EP, Letur-Lefr, will drop on July 17 in North America (July 4th in Japan), and the album, PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone, has a September 12th street date in Japan and a North American release on September 25th.
"I consider my music to be Progressive Synth Pop," Frusciante wrote, "which says nothing about what it sounds like, but does describe my basic approach. I combine aspects of many styles of music and create my own musical forms by way of electronic instruments."
Noting the differences between the two releases, Frusciante calls Letur "a compilation" consisting of tracks he recorded back in 2010, while PBX was conceived and created as an album. To bridge the gap between the two, Frusciante plans to offer the track "Walls and Doors" as a free download before the album comes out. "This song pointed the way towards PBX but was recorded 7 months earlier," he wrote.
Frusciante played all the instruments, sang and engineered both records, though he points out that Letur-Lefr features a handful of guest vocalists and MCs, while there will be only one guest spot on PBX.
PBX marks Frusciante's eleventh studio album and first since The Empyrean, released back in 2009, the same year he amicably left the Chili Peppers. When the Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this April, Frusciante opted not to attend.
