Blur Recording New Album

Blur are starting work on a new album.

The "Parklife" band will work on their first record since 2003's Think Tank - which didn't include guitarist Graham Coxon - after having to pull out of some dates in their current tour.

Speaking during a concert at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo on Sunday singer Damon Albarn said, "We were supposed to play in Taiwan and Japan next week, but due to unforeseen circumstances we weren't able to go there. So we have a week in Hong Kong, so we thought it would be a good time to try and record another record."

After touring Think Tank, Blur - which also includes bass player Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree - went on hiatus so its members could pursue other projects. They reunited in 2008 and started playing live in 2009. The band then released two tracks, "The Puritan" and "Under the Westway," last year.

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Blur to Debut New Tracks Over Twitter

Blur will debut two new tracks over Twitter.

The "Parklife" hitmakers - who will perform at an Olympic Games closing show in London's Hyde Park on August 12 - will premiere two new songs, "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan," next Monday via a live video stream on the social media platform.

"I wrote these songs for Hyde Park and I'm really excited about getting out there and playing them for people," singer Damon Albarn said.

The band - which includes Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree - will be filmed live from a secret UK location. The first song will be broadcast globally on Twitter.com/blurofficial at 6.15pm with an exclusive band interview, followed by the second track at 7:15pm.

"People all over the world are connecting with the musicians they love on Twitter. Blur are taking this idea even further by debuting two new songs through a live stream and having a direct conversation with their fans on the platform," explained Tony Wang, Twitter's UK General Manager.

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Blur Still Have Issues

Blur still have the "same issues" as they did 20 years ago. Frontman Damon Albarn admits he now has less tension with guitarist Graham Coxon - who left in the band in 2002 after a dispute with other members before rejoining the group in 2007 - but thinks that is because the pair are no longer in each other's pockets.

"It doesn't feel very different, really. We have the same issues that we've had for 20 years. No-one's really changed that much. But me and Graham have less [issues] than we've ever had. We live very independent lives now, so we're not on top of each other. It wouldn't be working otherwise, and I don't think either of us could be bothered with that," Damon said.

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