LONDON
- Britpop band Blur on Thursday announced the release of their first album in 12 years and a performance in London's Hyde Park in June.
The Magic Whip, scheduled for release on April 27, features the full Blur line-up of Alex James, Dave Rowntree, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon.
The band started recording the album, which follows the release of Think Tank in 2003, in Hong Kong after a gig was cancelled there.
“We thought we'd put a few days, five or six days, to good use,” guitarist Coxon said.
The Magic Whip features East Asian-inspired tracks including “Pyongyang,” “My terracotta heart” and “There are too many of us.”
“Everything just felt right,” James said. “I don't think we were really thinking of making a record.”
Blur will play Hyde Park on June 20 as part of the British Summer Time festival, which features Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, The Who and Grace Jones on other dates.
The group had recorded the new album as a live band, making the songs easy to perform live, lead singer Albarn said.
He added that some of the lyrics on the “very urban album” were influenced by protests in Hong Kong and a visit to North Korea.
The track Pyongyang, which takes its name from the North Korean capital, reflects “my impression of the place in a very abstract, veiled way,” Albarn said. - Sapa-dpa