Mark Knopfler to release new album in September

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 10 (UPI) -- British musician and songwriter Mark Knopfler is to release a new album called "Privateering" Sept. 10, Universal Music Group announced.

The record label said this week it signed a deal with Knopfler after he ended his 35-year relationship with Warner Brother Records. His new record is to debut on UMG's Verve Records.

"Mark has long been one of the most innovative and successful artists in music and we're thrilled he's decided to sign to Verve so that we are now working with him everywhere across the world," Max Hole, chairman and chief executive officer of UMG International, said in a statement.

"The older I get, the more I want to write," Knopfler said.

"I'm enjoying the process more than ever -- writing, recording and playing live -- I enjoy all of it. I'm almost tripping over songs," he added. "I chose to make a double album this time just because of the sheer volume of material. I didn't want to separate songs into genres and I didn't want to leave too many songs on the shelf. I just wanted it to be a reflection of the fantastic sessions we had. With a great bunch of players, it's the same as a great group of actors reading a script from the page, the thing can come alive in ways it just never has before. This is the band I have been working towards my whole life."