Having recently signed with Thrill Jockey, Television principal Tom Verlaine is at work on two new albums. One set is instrumental, while the other is being referred to as a “vocal” album. Verlaine has yet to choose which one will be issued first, but the winning candidate is being eyed for a March release.
“It would be good to tour but I am not sure how yet or what players will be available,” Verlaine tells Billboard.com about the possibility of playing shows in support of the projects.
As previously reported, first up is the Oct. 11 reissue of Verlaine’s 1992 instrumental album “Warm and Cool,” which has been expanded with eight bonus tracks the artist describes as “mostly solo guitar bits I put down on the computer over the last 10 years.”
“My first music experiences were with classical and then jazz,” Verlaine says of his interest in instrumentals. “I played sax for three years, so my real roots are in instrumental music. In fact, when I hear the term ‘music’ I never think of ‘songs.'”
Verlaine recently wrapped a run of European dates with Television, which he says now plays “anywhere from 12 to 40 shows a year, mostly in Europe” after reactivating a few years ago. “It’s a great way to get out of New York for a bit in the summer.”
Of greater interest to longtime fans will be Verlaine’s admission that the band has “been working on new songs this year. I reckon we have about seven nearly ready to record.” But, he notes, “I have no idea who for — what label, that is.”
Television has not released a studio album since a self-titled affair for Capitol in 1992, which was its first project since 1978’s “Adventure.”
