Making music over the past three decades has taught Perry Farrell one very important lesson when it comes to maintaining the high standard he sets for himself: take the time.
Farrell tells Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke that he first conceived of the idea for his latest album, Kind Heaven, about seven years ago.
"This is something that I would like to pass on to the younger musicians," Farrell says. "The more you take your time, and the more you have fun, the better your project becomes."
Before Farrell wrote a musical note for the new record, he began creating a visual landscape for his ideas. He says the album was inspired by the question: What if the Messiah returned today?
Farrell's conclusion is that the savior would find a world in 2019 not much different from what The Bible depicts Jesus experiencing.
"If the Messiah returned today he would probably be spied on by the CIA and the FBI," Farrell laughs.
So the Jane's Addiction singer started drawing. By the time he began working on music, he had a detailed vision board of sorts outlining the album from beginning to end.
But Farrell didn't write all the music in solitude, he adds that he's fortunate to know countless top-flight musicians. One of his first calls was to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
"We got together and we started writing tracks," Farrell recalls. "And Taylor was excited cause he got to, not only play drums, but play guitar too when he wanted."
From there, in came a flood of music and instrumentation, as Farrell collaborated with his wife, Etty Lau Farrell, composer Harry Gregson-Williams — who added a 30-piece orchestra to some tracks — famed producer Tony Visconti and others.
Listen to the entire Out of the Box interview in the player above.
Kind Heaven is available now.
Get all of Perry Farrell's tour dates here.