Roy Jurgens on April 2nd, 2019

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It’s been 38 years since a skinny Jewish kid moved from Miami Beach to Venice for the waves. And what a long, strange trip it has been. From the early art rock stylings of Psi Com, into the zen metal of the mighty Jane’s Addiction, to the acid-tinged Porno for Pyros, to his flirtations in electronica, to his concept band Satellite Party, Perry Farrell has been an artist in perpetual motion. The 60-year-old shaman introduces his latest incarnation, Perry Farrell’s Kind Heaven Orchestra, and accompanying album “Kind Heaven,” on June 7.

Farrell is not going quietly into his 60s. The lead single “Pirate Punk Politician” is not the kind, meditative ballad one would expect from a comfortable middle-aged frontman. Imagine classic Jane’s Addiction riffs spiced with electronic elements and then given a hit of acid for good measure. It’s the classic sound of the nineties — Jane’s, Beasties, Chili Peppers, Rage — updated for 2019.

While Farrell has been “political” throughout his career, it has usually been expressed via esoteric and symbolic themes. His lyrics here don’t need much interpretation: “Ask me any simple question / I’m an information contradiction / Go / Ask me any simple question / I’ll bash you with my fiction diction/ I don’t need nobody’s permission/ Split your country down the middle/ Break out your old banjos and fiddles/ Disconnect all the angel’s souls / Gather up now, let’s go.” This is not what you’d call a welcoming message to those who favor the current swell of autocratic regimes, ours included.

Co-helmed by Bowie visionary Tony Visconti, Farrell called in several pals to help out on the recording of this album. Among them are Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Elliott Easton of the Cars, Dhani Harrison, Hollywood composer Harry Gregson Williams and his wife, the ever-present Etty Lau Farrell.

Farrell is taking this project on the road with dates across the US and Europe, with the obligatory stops at various Lollapaloozas, the festival he founded some 28 years ago. Los Angeles area dates have yet to be announced. Also in the planning is a sort of “immersive installation,” a sensory overload of Southeast Asian culture, music, food, fashion, exoticism, exploration, mystery and spiritual enlightenment in Las Vegas, with details to be announced at a later date.

||| Stream: “Pirate Punk Politician”