Daryl Hall said he's in the early stages of writing the next Hall & Oates album, the duo's first batch of new material since 2003.

"I'm in the process right now of coming up with some ideas," Hall told Rolling Stone. "I've been working with some people on them right now I don't want to talk about yet."

Hall is currently writing songs without his longtime bandmate, a normal part of their writing routine. But Oates plans to "definitely jump on board later" after letting Hall "jump-start" the LP, which will follow 2003's Do It for Love; their 2004 soul covers record, Our Kind of Soul; and their 2006 holiday LP, Home for Christmas.

"I have so much going on, so, to be honest, I'm not quite there," Oates said. “Daryl has shifted his focus to Hall & Oates, which is great. I'm going to jump on board, for sure, but it's in the early, preliminary days of it. He's very excited, and he's been spending some time in Europe. He's found some young producers he's kind of getting energized with."

Hall emphasized that he and Oates don't and "never did really" write much together. "We went separate ways creatively," he said. "We needed to have that space apart, in that respect, even though we never stopped playing together, but now it just feels … I don't know how to describe it. When it feels right, it feels right."

Even though 2020 marks the fifth decade of the duo's official partnership, Hall isn't interested in marking the occasion with some kind of 50th-anniversary celebration. "It's the same reason I don’t go to fuckin' high school reunions," he said. "I'm not into celebrations or milestones or awards of any of that crap. It's all about the work to me."

They also dismissed two popular touring strategies: playing albums in in full ("I don't like that idea," said Oates) and booking a "farewell" trek. "I don't think we'd ever do a farewell tour," added the guitarist. "Every farewell tour I've ever heard about didn't turn out to be a farewell tour, so I don't know what the hell that means. Sure, if it's a marketing ploy, hey, why not? Everyone needs a hook. Everyone need a shtick. Whatever."

This summer, Hall & Oates will launch a gimmick-free North American tour alongside Squeeze and KT Tunstall. The trek opens May 29 in Los Angeles and runs through early September.

 

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