from undercover.com.au - by Tim Cashmere

The Roots Announce New Album

The Roots will release their new record 'Rising Down' on April 29. That's right, April. Six months away.

It will be their eighth album, and second for Def Jam.

Drummer Amir "?uestlove" Thompson told Billboard, "We are using a lot of synthesizer, but I don't know if I could call this the electronic album or not. Pretty much five or six songs are done, and four of them are synth-heavy. I know somehow I'm going to find the common thread of all this stuff. I don't know what to call it, but it's something."

The album's title is inspired by the literary piece 'Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means', written by William T. Vollmann.

Thompson has also made a name for himself as a session drummer, playing with Joss Stone, Lenny Kravitz, Erykah Badu and N*E*R*D, amongst many more.