Leonard Cohen announces new album to be released in 2012

Musician and poet Leonard Cohen has announced that he will be releasing a new album, called Old Ideas and containing 10 new tracks, in 2012.

The 77-year-old singer made the announcement while in Spain to collect an award. Rolling Stone reported that the album would be on shelves on January 31, but according to CTV Sony says there is no official release date. "I've played it for a few people, and they seem to like it," The Guardian quoted him as saying. When asked if he planned to tour again he replied: "God willing. I never quite know whether there's going to be a tour or not." It will be his first studio album since 2004's Dear Heather, which many people believed would be his last. Yahoo reported that Cohen had been content to have Dear Heather as his final album, but his former manager stole most of his retirement funds. Writing songs is not something Cohen finds easy. "You know, when you're writing, you're always an absolute beginner," Yahoo quoted him as saying. "Each time you take up your guitar or sit by a blank page, you start from scratch. It's a struggle." Cohen's son Adam, who recently released his own solo album called Like A Man, has been working with his father but there will be no musical collaboration. "I would love to make music with my father and I have in a private way, but as for a public way he really doesn't need my help or contribution," the BBC quoted him as saying. A post on Cohen's online forum states that all of the songs on the album are new except "Darkness", which was part of the recent concert tour. Another song is reported to be called "Home of the Brave." Sharon Robinson and Anjani Thomas, who have both collaborated with Cohen previously, are also working on the album.