Music

Red Hot Chili Peppers are working with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich

by Jeremy Mersereau

Will the next Red Hot Chili Peppers album include cryptic lyrics and electronic textures, maybe complete with Stanley Donwood artwork of a scribbled minotaur crying or whatever? Their Kid A – Kid South Bay? 

Maybe so, at least going by a photo sent into the social media aether by RHCP member/Will Ferrell doppelganger Chad Smith, which shows the drummer in the studio with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

Godrich, who has produced all of Radiohead’s albums except for their debut Pablo Honey, also plays with Flea and Thom Yorke in the supergroup Atoms for Peace. The Peppers and Radiohead are co-headlining Lollapalooza 2016 together, cementing the relationship between the twin alt-rock superpowers. Let’s hope Thom Yorke doesn’t start languidly chanting out the word “California” every two bars like a certain Los Angeleno. At least Flea jamming out on a “National Anthem” soundalike would be sick as hell, you got to admit.

The Peppers’ new album, which Anthony Kiedis told Rolling Stone was being produced by Danger Mouse, was close to completion back in February 2016, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before the world is blessed with OK California.