Portishead are to record their third studio album in Australia. Speaking exclusively to bristolsound.co.uk, Adrian Utley said that he and Beth Gibbons will be flying out to join Geoff Barrow, who is already in Sydney, very early in the new year.

The decision to record in Australia came about when Adrian and Geoff visited Oz together last March. ?It?s a really nice place,? said Adrian. ?We decided to go back and record there because we don?t need an expensive studio to work in. We?ve got a lot of equipment ourselves.

?Last time we went to Ridge Farm which was really, really expensive and we didn?t use a hundredth of the facilities they?ve got there. So we thought we?d go to nice places to work, instead of just another studio in another part of England. And it should be nice and warm.?

So, outside the miserable rainy confines of the UK, will all that sunshine come shining through on the next Portishead album? ?Christ I don?t know,? laughed Adrian. ?It?d be good, but I don?t know.?

After the hectic schedule that came with their last album, a refreshing change is just what the band need. ?Towards the end of touring last time we were all pretty fucked up and we?d had enough of Portishead,? said Adrian . ?But it?s going to be nice to start again. I?m looking forward to working with Geoff. We?ve done stuff together but we haven?t really sat down and stared at each other for a while. We?ve got a few ideas, but we haven?t got specific in any way. We?ll just see what happens.?

But whatever the outcome, Portishead are hoping to work a lot faster than on previous occasions. ?It took us two years to do the last album,? said Adrian. ?But I hope we?ll get this one done before the end of next year.?