“Energy“, the first single from “What Happens Next” is now streaming on Spotify, available as an immediate download track for iTunes and Amazon Music pre-orders!

“The song ‘Energy’ shows the power, fun and excitement of true and spontaneous musical chemistry. Chad, Glenn and me rockin’ out, not holding back, reveling in the moment.“

As Joe said to our friends from GuitarWorld, “Energy” also marks a distinct shift in musical direction for Satriani, who saw What Happens Next as a chance to move away from the high-concept, sci-fi-influenced themes he’s known for.

For the album, he says that he wanted to write songs “About a human being, two feet on the ground, heart pumping, with emotions, dreams, and hopes. That seemed to be the direction I really was yearning for.”
Musically, he told Smith and Hughes—during the sessions for What Happens Next—to keep things simple.

“I said to Chad in an early text, ‘No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul,’” Satriani said. “The last two records really showed that I was enjoying playing with progressive elements, and when I reached the end of Shockwave Supernova, I said, ‘I think I’ve done it. For some reason, I don’t feel like going back over that anymore’.”

“The song, obvious one ‘Energy’ because it really celebrates the fun of playing with new people! In this case Chad Smith and the drums and Glenn Hughes on the bass guitar. What a crazy bunch of guys to play with. That song I think, brought just a real state of energy out of everyone, I think they totally got it fight off the bat.“

“We had no issues recording it, it was just difficult which take to pick you know? So much fun to do. I think that the whole thing about the riff, it embodies my continuing love affair with the guitar and with performance and the album really begged to have that song he song sort of start the whole project off.“