Franz Ferdinand hope to return to the music scene early next year.

The Scottish four-piece are currently taking a break from making their own music, with each member concentrating on different projects.

Frontman Alex Kapranos is producing The Cribs new album, but thinks the band will be ready to reunite later in the year to make their third album.

"After I've finished working with The Cribs, I'm gonna get back together with the other guys and see what material they've got. Then hopefully we will get to record it during the late part of the summer and if everything goes well, it'll be out by this time next year."

The singer also warned that the band's sound may be slightly different to that which fans are used to: "I've got five or six songs at the moment and although it's very early yet, they seem to have more of a rougher, rawer feel to them. That's something I wouldn't mind doing for the album as a whole but a lot could happen between now and when we get into the studio."