Guitarist Michael Hampton to Release New Project “Into the Public Domain” on Dec. 13th, 2025
Parliament-Funkadelic guitar wizard Michael Hampton releasing instrumental EP
On December 13th, Parliament-Funkadelic legacy guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Michael Hampton will unveil Into the Public Domain, an EP produced by 9-time Grammy Award winner and Ruffhouse Records co-founder Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo. A founding father of power-funk electric guitar, Hampton edges into new territory on Into the Public Domain, a meld of rock and world music with jazz and western overtones, hallmarked by Michael’s trademark sizzling leads.
Into the Public Domain inaugurates a series of two EPs and an album from Michael to be released from December 2025 through Spring of 2026, all on Nicolo’s personal imprint, Sound Mind Records. Each release will be available in digital, CD, and vinyl formats.
Into the Public Domain was co-produced by Joe Nicolo, Michael Hampton, Philip Samuel Smith and John Schreffler, the latter three of whom wrote and played on all songs on the EP. Recorded at Fort Wolf Studios in Canyon Country, California, Into the Public Domain, also features a guest appearance from luminary rock gospel guitarist Phil Keaggy, whose more than fifty solo albums have earned seven GMA Dove Awards and multiple Grammy nominations.
Additional Into the Public Domain sessions were held at the famed Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, a favorite studio of Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Prince, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, and Tom Petty. Grammy-winner Shooter Jennings, a musician and producer known for blending outlaw country with rock and experimental styles, guested on keys and co-production at Michael’s Sunset Sound sessions.
Into the Public Domain album highlights include the invigorating pop-rock racer “Fight or Flight”, and the title track, an explorative blend of subdued funk, manic jazz, and afrobeat. Album closer “Tecnicolor Moble Home” is a big-screen finale showcasing an unlikely union of classic strings, spacey pedal steel and forceful fuzz guitar. 90s shoegaze vibes lift its closing chorus before a gentle, spare orchestral landing drops the curtain.
A defining feature of the album, and the inspiration for its title, involves its licensing status. Into the Public Domain will be released under a public-domain license, granting artists, filmmakers and marketers everywhere royalty-free usage of any and all elements of the album (save for artwork). Multitrack audio files of each song will also be posted online for free remix and sampling purposes, through links provided on Michael’s social media.
Into the Public Domain will appear on all major streaming platforms and digital stores, and be available for free download via QR codes on limited-edition trading cards included with purchases from Michael’s Bandcamp merch store. Cards will be autographed at random, and are also available for free from Michael at Parliament Funkadelic shows, solo gigs, and all public appearances (while supplies last). Free downloads in .MP3 and .M4A formats are also available at www.tinyurl.com/PublicDomainDL.
A series of 15 cards total will be unveiled across the 3 EP release cycle. The 6 cards which commemorate Into the Public Domain feature exotic wildlife designs from Hollywood-based mixed-media creator PhilipTheArtist. Each card’s QR code also grants access to exclusive Michael Hampton online media content inaccessible to the general public. In addition to standard card stock, Into the Public Domain cards are also printed in ultra-rare hologram formats, including proprietary HoloCloud, HoloPixel, and HoloFractal cards, to be distributed at random with orders, some autographed.
Spanning a wide range of genres and sonic styles, all three EPs in the series were created in conjunction with music industry legend Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo, whose unique resume includes work with Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Fugees, Hall & Oates, Cypress Hill, Sting, and Aerosmith. Nicolo’s credits on Michael’s EP releases range from album production to mixing, engineering and arrangement.
The second EP in the series, King Kong, is set for an early 2026 release. Also recorded at Fort Wolf Studios by the same production team as Into the Public Domain, King Kong features a roster of Hollywood session elites backing Michael, including Philip Samuel Smith on rhythm guitar, Matt Lesser on drums, and John Schreffler on pedal steel, bass and acoustic guitar. Additional sessions, engineered by Jacob Johnston, an engineer on multiple Hans Zimmer projects, were held in Los Angeles.
The final release in the series (as of yet untitled), contains contributions from spotlight members of Lauryn Hill’s band, as well as several surprise guests, and unlike the two prior EPs, features Michael on lead vocals. Further showcasing Michael’s versatility, this release wades into yacht rock, visits throwback rap, and delivers the heaviest funk yet.
Recording for this album is taking place at Joe’s Garage in Audubon, Pennsylvania, a studio custom designed by Nicolo and industry icon Tony Bongiovi, a veteran of storied New York studios Record Plant and Power Station, and former producer and engineer of Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones, Talking Heads and Ozzy Osbourne. Jacob Johnston.
MICHAEL HAMPTON CAREER SUMMARY
After receiving his first guitar at age 10, a determined Michael became self-taught with the help of his bedroom radio, spending days on end playing along with Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery and B.B. King records. After studying jazz guitar in high school, an impromptu backstage audition for George Clinton in 1974 earned 17-year-old Michael a seat on the Parliament mothership alongside the immortal Eddie Hazel, under the name “Kidd Funkadelic”.
Hampton has spent the past half-century playing nearly 400 shows with the band, in 25 countries across 6 continents. Highlights include multiple appearances at world-renowned festivals like Montreux Jazz, Glastonbury, Reading, Woodstock ’99, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock, and Isle of Wight, and venues like the Apollo Theater, The Fillmore, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Troubadour, Red Rocks, The Beacon, and Sydney Opera House.
Among Hampton’s Funkadelic writing credits are group staples like “Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?!” and “Funk Gets Stronger”, both released during the group’s late-’70s/early-’80s hit run. His lead guitar is also embedded in the DNA of 90s hip-hop’s G-Funk movement—Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” samples Parliament’s “Mothership Connection”, Ice Cube’s “Bop Gun” borrows elements of Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove”, while De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I”, Digital Underground’s “Kiss You Back”, and Snoop Dogg’s “What’s My Name?” all draw from Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep”.
Michael’s colleagues include George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker, Charlie Wilson, Dewayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, Fred Wesley & The JB’s, Chuck Treece, Dean Ween, Primal Scream, Digital Underground, Too $hort, and Deee-Lite. Michael’s contributions to the Parliament Funkadelic catalog have also influenced famed artists like Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Outkast, D’Angelo and Janelle Monáe, among many others. As of 2025, Michael has appeared on over 30 separate major label releases.
Though best known for his role in the funk guitar pantheon, Hampton is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, with drums, keys, and synth programming credits across the Parliament discography.
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