At the start of the pandemic, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen joked in Rolling stone that he was in his 40s “hanging out well in the apple, baby, gargling Clorox under a sunlamp.” Fortunately, it turns out that he also found time to write songs for a new solo album which will be his first since 2012. Sunken condos.

“After [the pandemic] lasted a while, I ended up writing almost the equivalent of an album of songs for a solo album, ”Fagen said in a new interview. “It was actually a very good time for me.”

Fagen says it’s still too early to reveal too many details, but says he’s already done some demos for the new songs. “I’m really excited about it,” Fagen says, adding tunes, “Some of them are personal. There’s one I particularly like called“ The Stellar Bartender ”. [Laughs] About a very empathetic bartender.

Fagen recently released two new live albums, Northeast corridor – which boasts a handful of Steely Dan songs – and a full live version of his 1982 solo album, The fly of the night. He’s also set to hit the road again with Steely Dan next month, with a series of shows starting October 25 in Baltimore, Maryland (a handful of shows previously scheduled for early October have been recently pushed to 2022).

Fagen says the band will be kicking off rehearsals in the coming weeks, but despite being away for more than a year, he’s confident there won’t be too much rust to remove. “We’re just going to brush up on some stuff, maybe add some new stuff to dress the show up a bit,” he says, before adding with a laugh, “It’s really handy that everyone can read music. You don’t have to sing parts, we have charts – although most players don’t even use charts anymore. “

And while Fagen spent his forties performing and writing at home, he can’t wait for music to be no longer such a solo endeavor. “I really missed it,” he says of playing live. “I haven’t played with anyone else at all since 2020. I’m really, really into it.”