Nile Rodgers has confirmed the new Chic album is due for release "within the next few months".
The 65-year-old music legend and his band Chic were supposed to release ‘It’s About Time’ in 2015, marking their first release since 1992, but after a string of delays – including the death of Nile’s friend and collaborator David Bowie in 2016 – the iconic star has announced the record will finally be ready for release this year.
When asked if the album was still happening, the ‘Good Times’ hitmaker said: "It’s so happening and it’s happening soon, within the next few months. What happened originally is that I released a single in 2015, and obviously when you release the first single it’s designed to start the momentum of the album. The music business, singles are like a trailer for a movie. At least that’s how I’ve always viewed it, and my album is the ‘film.’
"It felt great performing it in England so many times, where we had a great tour that year with Duran Duran, and wanted to wait until the first few weeks of the year in 2016. Then Bowie passed away days into the year, and I was like ‘Whoa’."
Nile admits he doesn’t have an exact release date in mind as of yet because he’s exploring "visuals and concepts" to go alongside the record, but he has insisted the album will "absolutely" be released this year.
Speaking to Billboard, he said: "I don’t have a specific release date, but it’s absolutely coming this year. 100 percent. The reason I don’t have a specific release date right now is because we’re looking at visuals and concepts with different video directors. This album is sort of like a musical compendium, if you will. It really taught me a lot. It’s me saying, ‘This is how I got here, I’m so appreciative, it’s so fun, this is how we do it and this is what I believe in.’"