New Orleans funk ensemble Galactic is recording a new full-length album and has enlisted producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura to lend his talents in the studio. "Working with this band in New Orleans gives me a whole different palate of flavors," said a statement from Nakamura, who has worked with the likes of Gorillaz, Prince Paul, and Kool Keith.

"Dan is the perfect producer for us right now," added Galactic bassist Robert Mercurio. "We were already headed in this direction, and it's great to have a producer who can run with that."

The fruit of this collaboration -- due in the fall on Volcano Records -- will be Galactic's first studio album in three years. It will be the follow-up to 2000's "Late for the Future," which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In September 2001, the group released the live document "We Love 'Em Tonight: Live at Tipitina's," which debuted at No. 3 on the same chart.

In addition to previously announced appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Manchester, Tenn.'s Bonnaroo festival, the band is also hitting a number of other fairs and package concerts this summer, including performances at Cityfest Live in Charlotte, N.C., the All Good Festival in Masontown, W.V., Jubilee Cityfest in Montgomery, Ala., and the 1000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minn.

Here are Galactic's tour dates:

April 24: New Orleans (Tipitina's)
April 25: New Orleans (Jazz & Heritage Festival)
April 26: New Orleans (Twiropa)
April 27: Charlotte, N.C. (Cityfest Live)
May 2: New Orleans (State Palace Theater)
May 16: Masontown, W.V. (All Good Festival)
May 25: Montgomery, Ala. (Jubilee Cityfest)
June 13-15: Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo)
June 27: Terra Alta, W.V. (Higher Ground Music Festival)
July 3-4: Detroit Lakes, Minn. (1000 Lakes Festival)
July 18: Carrol County, Miss. (Hobstock)