Flea has stepped away from the global stadium roar of Red Hot Chili Peppers to return to the instrument that shaped his youth, the trumpet, for a new solo project due in 2026. The album, scheduled for release through Nonesuch Records, marks a significant shift for the bassist who helped define Los Angeles rock across five decades. A first preview, titled A Plea, is available now. Further details of the album will arrive in early 2026.
Flea began his musical life as a trumpeter inspired by Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Dizzy Gillespie. The trumpet remained his first love long before the slap bass style that made him a household name. The new project draws from that early foundation and unites him with leading modern jazz artists, allowing him to reconnect with a form that once shaped his identity.
A Plea features Flea on electric bass, vocals, and trumpet, with a cast that includes double bassist Anna Butterss, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Deantoni Parks, percussionist Mauro Refosco, alto flutist Rickey Washington, and trombonist Vikram Devasthali. Producer Josh Johnson appears on alto saxophone and vocals, and Chris Warren also contributes vocals. A companion video, directed by Flea’s daughter Clara Balzary, uses choreography by Sadie Wilking.
Flea describes A Plea as a reflection on global division and the search for unity. His focus is not political combat but a wish for broader human connection. He frames the track as a call for people to meet one another in openness, compassion, and creativity.
The single urges listeners to “build a bridge, shine a light, make something beautiful and see somebody, give it to somebody.”
He says he yearns for a space above conflict, one shaped by empathy. His belief that love forms the common ground uniting humanity drives the project’s theme. For an artist who built a career on explosive energy, the new direction offers a quieter introspection that still carries emotional force.
Full Lyrics: A Plea
(Civil War)
I hear it in the air
I feel it in the air
Who’s your neighbor, who’s your friend?
Ahh there’s hate all around
I dont care about your fucking politics
I don’t wanna hear about your politics
Well, he said boo
She said hooray
Now we are human beings right here
Human beings
We’re here together
Come on
Whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when it falls on you?
You’re scaring the kids
The beautiful kids
Ah yeah they wanna know
The children wanna know
Is the ugly coming, and the guns?
Is the army coming, blotting out the sun?
The blood red sun, the blood red sun
Ahhhhhhh concentration camps?
(Peace And Love)
My blood runs cold
I’m feeling hate all around
It’s no solution
It’s never been a solution
Come on
Are you with me?
We all know what it is
Build a bridge
Shine a light
Make something beautiful
I don’t care if it’s a little scrap of squiggly crayon on a paper
Make something beautiful and see somebody
Give it to somebody
I’m not being corny this shit is real
Live for peace
Live for love
It’s all we got
See the god in everyone
See the god
Come on with me
(The Æther)
Everyone just wants to be loved
See the god in everyone
Everyone leaves out no-one
And everything besides love is cowardice
You wanna be brave, you wanna be tough?
Peace and love is the toughest hardest thing you can do
Build a bridge that’s where the courage is
Shine your light
Shine it true
Yeah
Michael Peter Balzary was born in Melbourne in 1962. His family moved to the United States during his early childhood. His stepfather was a jazz musician who welcomed players into their home, exposing Flea to sessions that shaped his musical development. He took trumpet lessons and admired jazz deeply. Rock came later through friendships formed at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he met Anthony Kiedis and Hillel Slovak.
Flea co-founded Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983 and evolved into one of rock’s most distinctive bassists. His work combined funk, punk, psychedelia, and melodic invention. The band achieved global success with albums like Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication, By The Way, and Stadium Arcadium. In 2012, the group entered the
Alongside his work with the band, Flea joined or collaborated with Atoms For Peace, Antemasque, Pigface, Rocket Juice & The Moon, The Mars Volta, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Young MC, Alanis Morissette, and Jane’s Addiction. His 2012 EP Helen Burns showed his experimental side. He also runs the Silverlake Conservatory Of Music, a school he co-founded in 2001.
The forthcoming album promises to expand Flea’s creative history. It marks his first return to trumpet-led composition since his youth and pairs that voice with a jazz ensemble that reflects his early influences.
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