Johnny Marr “hit” immediately with John Frusciante.

The Smiths star was invited by the Red Hot Chili Peppers rocker to play guitar on his 2009 solo album “The Empyrean,” and the duo had an instant connection in the studio.

Johnny, 58, told Total Guitar magazine: “Without being too simplistic or corny, guitarists are definitely a breed, and John and I hit it off straight away. There’s this haunting thing about guitarists – whether it’s sound, scales or guitar models, it seems to be part of the whole thing.

“John and I were recording at his house, which was nice. And with him, there was a kind of quiet intensity.”

Johnny also hailed John, 52, for his “almost sacred” approach to music.

He said, “There’s an almost Zen-like stillness to his focus when he’s writing. There’s this underlying honor in what he does. John has an approach to music that’s almost sacred.”

Likewise, John loved working with the Smiths star and marveled at his “totally unconventional” approach to music.

He recalls: “It was really fun. I could see how Johnny’s creative process worked on the guitar. He’s very unorthodox: in the Smiths stuff, the guitar is often a thing that blends into the band, but when you actually see the way Johnny comes up with things, and the way he thinks through the instrument, it’s just totally unconventional.

“And it was amazing to see that creative process at work fit into the context of a pre-recorded piece of music.”