Outsides is the fifth EP by John Frusciante, originally scheduled to be released on August 14, 2013, in Japan, and on August 27, 2013, internationally on Record Collection but due to an error in the distribution process, some pre-ordered CDs were shipped to customers during late July 2013.[1] As a result, the international record release date has been brought forward to the 6th August 2013. The EP was released in multiple formats, including CD, vinyl, 32-bit digital formats and cassette. The music serves as a conceptual bridge between PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone and Enclosure.
Outsides consists of a 10-minute guitar solo and 2 abstract “out” pieces of music. Here I use the word out in the same sense as the term was used in free jazz. It’s a modern approach to the concepts of harmony found in some late 50s/early 60s free jazz and some 20th century classical. I don’t employ any aspects of rock or pop harmony, and that was basically the approach, just to make music that is not reliant on the center that, on PBX, was provided by my songwriting style. I consider this to be working along abstract lines. Making forward moving, full sounding music without resorting to any familiar musical relationships of harmony to serve as a basis has been a goal of mine for quite a while. Both songs have my style of drums and guitar solos, but nevertheless I think of them as my version of modern classical music. They started as just orchestra, but I go wherever music takes me, and I use any instrument to express my feelings, just as I use aspects of any style. For instance, on "Shelf", despite the unconventional tonality of the section, I was surprised to find that a blues guitar solo worked well. Also, both songs have Acid sections.[2][3]
