Elton John seems to have soft-launched a new studio album – by writing personalised letters to his fans.

It’s been a rollercoaster 18 months for the much-loved British legend, who brought down the curtain on his final tour with a colossal headline set at Glastonbury Festival. Since then, he’s popped up here and there – including Dua Lipa’s Royal Albert Hall concert – but Elton has been suspiciously low-key.

As it transpires, he’s more than likely been recording a new album. In the past few days, a select batch of super-fans have been sent letters from the man himself, outlining his plans and promising a new album in the coming weeks.

Fan forums have been flooded with speculation, including screenshots of the letters themselves. The new album was seemingly constructed alongside Brandi Carlile – “when we met, I fell in love with her, and we connected straight away,” he writes.

“It was connection, a true connection, emotionally, musically and it’s been one of the greatest friendships of my life.”

Finding himself with space in his diary after completing his tour commitments, Elton John decided to try something a little different – a full studio album, starting with “a blank notepad and a world-class band of legendary session musicians”.

Elton John and Brandi Carlile worked alongside “my long-term collaborator Bernie Taupin and dear friend Andrew Watt”, aiming to channel “a truly collaborative album inspired by our musical heroes and our journey together.”

The sessions were seemingly hugely productive – 20 days resulted in 14 songs, 10 of which will appear on the forthcoming album.

“I wanted to play better, sing better, write better, and challenge myself creatively. It was one of the most difficult creative processes I’ve ever been through, but couldn’t be prouder of the outcome. I wanted to make this record with Brandi because I knew what she was capable of, and I wanted to sing and play with her because I knew it would be special.”

Funnily enough, there’s also a website you can sign up to.

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Is a full announcement forthcoming? Elton John’s previous studio album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ was released in 2021; a compilation of collaborations – including his No. 1 single with Dua Lipa (and PNAU) – you have to look back almost a decade to 2016’s ‘Wonderful Crazy Night’, for the last Elton John studio album, in the traditional sense.

In a slightly unexpected twist, CLASH blabbed out news of this Elton John / Brandi Carlile project over a year ago, via an unusual source. During an interview with The Who guitarist Pete Townshend the UK rock legend revealed he and Elton speak almost everyday –

“Elton is so fraught with loss at not knowing what to do next. He’s just gone over to LA to make an album with Brandi Carlile. They made an album together in two weeks. He says it’s one of the best things they’ve ever done”.

Stay tuned.

Need some more Elton John in your life? Revisit our CLASH cover interview from 2016.

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