Ramona mentioned this in passing yesterday while rounding up a whole bunch of news stories, but I’ll take a moment to expand: John Frusciante has left the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

As you may know, Frusciante was the original Peppers guitarist through Blood Sugar Sex Magik, after which he left due to heroin addiction. Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and his mutant goatee took over while Frusciante’s parents had him locked in the bedroom or whatever (that’s how it always goes down in the movies, right?) and drew mixed reviews for his performance on One Hot Minute, which for all intents and purposes was my introduction to the band way back in 1995.

A cleaned-up Frusciante returned in 1999 for Californication, but along the way he started an incredibly prolific solo career. I think we’re up to ten albums now — four albums and an EP in 2004 alone, for a grand total of 52 tracks. This prompted DIY recording mag Tape Op, for whom I also write from time to time, to run a pretty intriguing interview some time ago in which he described running his guitar signal through modular synth components and all other manner of sonic freakery.

Moving forward with that side of things, then: Speed Dealer Moms is still a standing concern. That’d be the duo project Frusciante formed with hyperstimulated electronica composer Venetian Snares, née Aaron Funk, one of the poster children for an IDM scene that doesn’t take to poster children too kindly at all.

He, likewise, is incredibly prolific — three EP’s and one album in ‘04 to match Frusciante’s barrage. I spent a lot of time with the Snares catalog last year, and that 2004 album, Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding, includes in Ion Divvy one of the most bizarre time signatures I’ve ever heard. Or maybe I should say several of them; who knows, I still haven’t figured out how to count it. And then there’s Vida, which has always struck me as a sort of Kid A with the electronic elements jacked up even farther. Might be my favorite of his tracks ever, though as a matter of course I’d probably say that it’s the pieces which combine drum programming and classical orchestration (like Szamár Madár, above) that make for his most successful excursions.

Point being, keep an eye on these guys. You won’t be disappointed.