Flea and Radiohead's Thom Yorke collab on new track 'Traffic Lights'

Red Hot Chili Peppers legend Flea is continuing his solo career, and he’s done it with a pretty solid co-pilot. His latest single ‘Traffic Lights’ is out now, featuring Radiohead’s Thom Yorke - a pretty iconic duo.

The track was co-written by Yorke and Josh Johnson, and Flea says working on it took him straight back to the Atoms for Peace days, the supergroup he and Yorke were part of in the 2010s.

Speaking about Yorke, Flea didn’t hold back, calling him “the warmest, free-flowing, jamming motherf*cker,” which feels like high praise coming from a bloke who’s jammed with just about everyone.

‘Traffic Lights’ is the second single lifted from Flea’s upcoming debut solo album Honora, due out March 27. The first, ‘A Plea’, dropped late last year and offered an early hint at the direction he’s heading in.

The album marks a return to Flea’s first musical love, the trumpet. Named after a beloved family member, Honora was composed and arranged entirely by Flea and leans heavily into instrumental grooves and jazz-informed textures.

While he’ll be on bass, trumpet, and vocals, he’s got a crew assembled to help - drummist Anna Butterss, drummer Deantoni Parks, percussionist Mauro Refosco, flutist Rickey Washington, trombonist Vikram Devasthali, vocalist Chris Warren, guitarist Jeff Parker, and saxophone player/vocalist Josh Johnson.

Flea has spoken openly about the nerves that came with stepping into this world full-time, worrying he’d be seen as “a non-playing motherf----er, charlatan, rock poseur.” Thankfully, the musicians around him had other ideas.

He’s called his coworkers the “most genuinely supportive people”.

"Sitting in a room and playing the music with them made me feel like I was on drugs. I was buzzing, tripping and floating around the studio,” said Flea. “I love them, they truly gave of themselves. I bow all the way down.”

The 10-track album features six originals and some massive covers, including Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ and Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking About You’.