NEW YORK (Billboard) - Foreigner is eyeing "either the end of this year or early next year" to release a new album, according to group founder Mick Jones. And it's likely to contain a mix of both brand new and familiar material.

Jones and the reconstituted band -- which features Led Zeppelin progeny Jason Bonham on drums, former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and Kelly Hansen on vocals -- were recently in an Atlanta studio recording new versions of older material, including a "stripped-down" take of the 1987 hit "Say You Will." On top of that, Jones told Billboard.com that there are "about four or five (new) songs that we have pretty much ready to go," though he wasn't yet ready to reveal titles or final recording plans.

"During the fall we'll take a couple months off to focus in on the writing and get some new product," Jones said. "Gradually it's been coming. It's just been a question of feeling out where I want to go with the music. I want it to flow naturally. I don't want to sort of do anything consciously to go in a certain direction. I want to be guided by my inner intuitions."

Jones has other ideas for Foreigner as well. The group is considering filming a concert DVD this year, and he said there are plans to "do a specific concert playing the whole of the '4' album in sequence, with a live audience. We wouldn't play it exactly like the record, but we'd play it in the sequence and change the arrangements a little."

There are, however, no plans to celebrate this year's 30th anniversary of the release of Foreigner's self-titled debut album, which sold more than 4 million copies and launched the hits "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold as Ice."

"Everybody's conscious of" the anniversary, Jones said, "but I guess I just haven't been dwelling on it much. I don't think we're even talking about it. These days, at a lot of the concerts, the front rows are tons of kids, like 18- to 25-year olds, maybe even younger, and they're pretty much doing the same kinds of things that kids did 25, 30 years ago ... a lot of underwear coming on stage!"

"I think it's sort of incredible. It's such a gift to look out and see that the songs have somehow survived and they've got almost kind of a rebirth here," he said.

Reuters/Billboard