Positive change starts from within. It begins with a single heartbeat that reboots the entire system and refreshes one’s state of mind to appreciate the beauty of the new, the unknown. It becomes an infectious glow, radiantly illuminating the lives of others and inspiring them to break the panorama in their own special way. The final of Clash 114’s cover stars is an exemplary model of an artist that has committed himself to generously entrusting his life and work to the proliferation of empathy through the broadening of his own horizons by endlessly experiencing and relating to other cultures. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ iconic bassist Flea has, to the outside world, forever embodied that incandescent spirit. His band was founded in a spark of indomitable energy, and ever since they have been dedicated to spreading that force to anyone who’d listen. But, as his new autobiography, Acid For The Children, will attest, underneath Flea’s rapacious curiosity and compassion lie deep fears, anxieties, and pain. In an exclusive and candid interview with Clash’s Editor-In-Chief, Flea opens up like never before on the traumatic past that shaped him, and the unquenchable hunger for humanity that truly motivates him. “I feel like my purpose is to use art to make people feel less alone, and to use love as a means to make people feel less alone.,” he tells Clash. “Because it’s a lonely, cruel, harsh world, and when I feel people’s pain being expressed in a beautiful way, it touches me in a visceral way; I feel moved, I feel shook, I feel like I’ve been given a meaning, and that meaning has come from love and compassion, and from people doing everything they can in order to express their compassion through art. Ultimately, if you’re trying to make things that are beautiful, we help other people to feel less alone, so I think that that’s my purpose in this world.” Also featured in this issue is King Princess, Tame Impala, HAIM, Denzel Curry, Halsey, JPEGMAFIA, AJ Mitchell, Lolo Zouaï, Patti Smith, Nick Mason, Akon, Pop Smoke, Maisie Peters, The Beatles, and many more. Cover photograph by Bruce Weber/Trunk Archive
