In a new interview with BBC Radio 1, Peppers bassist Flea says the band wrote 70 songs for the new project and selected the final list based on overall vibe.
“What was important to us when we put the record together was to make sure that each song filled its own space and was not like another song on the record,” said Flea. “We wrote 70 songs, so it's not even necessarily all the best ones that we put on, but just the ones that occupy their own space.”
The creative surge may have had something to do with the band’s laid back schedule, given that they took two full years off following the release and tour for 2006’s “Stadium Arcadium.”
Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, the August 30 release of “I’m With You” marks the band’s 10th studio album and the first with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who previously toured with the band on their last world tour, playing extra guitar and keyboards.
Earlier this week, the band released the album’s first single, “The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie."
“I like the song,” Flea says. “It's a cool, simple, funky, little jam but it's completely different, there's nothing else on the record that sounds anything like it. It's a tricky one because all of the songs on the record are so different."
The Peppers have already lined up concert dates in the Far East for mid-August, followed by a series of South American shows in September after the album hits stores.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie (2011)
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Hear the new single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers