Zack de la Rocha Releases Debut Solo Single, ‘Digging for Windows’

While his former Rage Against the Machine band mates have been busy over the past 15 years, first with Audioslave and now with Prophets of Rage, vocalist Zack de la Rocha has been comparatively silent. Today (Sept. 8), he released his first solo single, “Digging for Windows.”

You can listen to it above, and download it for free over at BitTorrent. It was produced by El-P of Run the Jewels, with guitar work by Matt Sweeney, who has worked with Cat Power and Eagles of Death Metal, and Nick Hook helping out on keyboards.

Consequence of Sound notes that de la Rocha has been trying to create a solo album since Rage Against the Machine’s first breakup in 2000, and lists names like Questlove and Trent Reznor — in addition to El-P — among his collaborators. However, he chose not to release any of it, reportedly because it was too similar to his previous band. In 2008, while Rage had reunited, he and drummer Jon Theodore (the Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age) formed One Day as a Lion and put out a self-titled EP. It’s unknown at this time if “Digging the Windows” stems from some of those initial sessions with El-P, or if he is planning to deliver a full-length record.

Meanwhile, his ex-bandmates, in conjunction with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real, have released Prophets’ of Rage’s debut EP. They have another five weeks left in their “Make America Rage Again” tour and you can get full details at their website.

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