Damon Albarn has reportedly confirmed that the band will record a new album following the release of his forthcoming solo LP.

The frontman said the band are working on new songs for an eighth studio album, but it won’t be released for a while yet, according to the Wall Street Journal. It comes after Albarn hinted in Hong Kong earlier this year that they may record new material and his Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett said they were working on a new record. The band have released standalone tracks “Fool’s Day”, “The Puritan” and “Under The Westway” since Graham Coxon rejoined them after a long hiatus in 2008 but a new album has not been forthcoming so far.

Albarn is currently in New York to promote his musical Monkey: Journey To The West. Speaking of the show and his various other musical projects, he also spoke more of his new solo album. He said: “You can hear a lot, what’s going on. It’s quite intimate.”

Albarn is working on the album with producer and XL Records label boss Richard Russell. He previously said of the record: “We worked together on the Bobby Womack record, and really enjoyed working together. He’s done spectacularly well as a music mogul, but I think he wants to focus his energy on producing records. Making a solo record can be such a disaster, so I thought if we’re going to make a record with my name on it, I should get someone to really produce it – take that responsibility away from myself.”