2008 has been a packed year for Hot Chip. Since the February release of Made In The Dark, the band have been on the road non-stop on a tour that has included two stints in the States, British and European dates, as well as numerous festival appearances.

Guitarist Al Doyle tells the BBC, "We’ve all had a very busy year. We’re quite exhausted." But the end is in sight; following their appearance at Australia's Big Day Out Festival in January 2009, Hot Chip's diary will be empty, kinda. The way Doyle sees it, the band will then be free to get to work on album number five.  "When we come back from that, we’ve got no commitments at all so we’ll get back into the studio.”

 

Despite Hot Chip's eagerness to return to the studio, Doyle insists it will still be a while before fans can get their hands on the group's next album, "I think probably the earliest it would be out is Autumn and we would be working fast to do that." The record will possibly feature "Alley Cats," a slow-tempo track previewed at US shows this past September and October.

 

While Fall 2009 may seem like a long way off to some fans, Doyle reassures us that there will be plenty of Hot Chip-related releases in the interim, "We’ve got lots of stuff that might come out anyway, some other little projects."

 

Alexis Taylor was the first of the band members to release a solo record, with October's Rubbed Out on the Treader label, and the others are planning to follow his lead. Doyle explains, "Felix [Martin] and I will probably release an album next year that we’ve been working on; and I know Joe [Goddard]’s got various different projects that he’s keeping on the backburner. So, there’ll definitely be Hot Chip or Hot Chip related music coming out.”

 

Good news for Hot Chip fans everywhere. [BBC]