Sting Announces 'Winter' Album For Fall
Summer is just around the corner, but Sting has another season on his mind. The singer announced today (June 17) that his next album, "If On a Winter's Night...," will be inspired by his favorite time of year and feature two original compositions as well as traditional songs, carols and lullabies from the British Isles. The album is slated for release October 27 on Deutsche Grammophon.
"The theme of winter is rich in inspiration and material," Sting said in a statement. "By filtering all of these disparate styles into one album I hope we have created something refreshing and new."
"If On A Winter's Night" finds Sting collaborating with Robert Sadin, who produced and arranged Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning "Gershwin's World," and a host of guest musicians including his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller. The artist's original compositions are entitled "Lullaby for an Anxious Child" and "The Hounds of Winter," and among the traditional songs being interpreted are the Newscastle ballad "The Snow It Melts the Soonest," the English "begging" song "A Soalin'," and "Gabriel's Message," a carol that dates back to the 14th century.
Of his deep affinity for winter, Sting explained, "Our ancestors celebrated the paradox of light at the heart of the darkness, and the consequent miracle of rebirth and the regeneration of the seasons."
Sting's 2006 album "Songs from the Labyrinth," inspired by the lute songs of English composer John Dowland, has sold 259,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Fifth Indiana Jones movie planned
Shia Labeouf has confirmed movie bosses are planning to bring Indiana Jones back for a fifth time - a new film in the archaeologist adventurer series is in the works.
LaBeouf joined Harrison Ford in the movie franchise's fourth instalment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, last year and played the history hero's son and sidekick Mutt.
After the global success of the film, which came nearly 20 years after 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, rumours began swirling that director Steven Spielberg planned to continue the franchise without Ford - passing the lead to the young Transformers star.
And now the actor has confirmed the legendary director is working on another Indiana Jones picture - but refuses to reveal any of the details.
He says, "Steve just said that he cracked the story on it, and I think they're gearing that up."
Ford and LaBeouf have both dismissed reports that the younger star will be leading the Indiana Jones franchise in the future, even though LaBeouf recently told Playboy magazine that his movie father handed him his iconic hat as a parting gift on the set of the last film.