'I couldn't be happier to be working with my band again,' Rodgers says of reuniting with 'Wild Boys' collaborators.

Thirty years ago, Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers teamed for the band's iconic hit single "The Wild Boys." Now, that pairing is back in action, recording Duran Duran's new studio album, which is due for release in first half of 2015.

"The record is coming along great," says Rodgers. "I couldn't be happier to be working with my band again. They're like my second CHIC." (Rodgers -- who topped the Billboard Hot 100 twice with his band CHIC -- also co-produced Duran Duran's Notorious album, and remixed their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "The Reflex" to great success.)

Also on board for the new album: Mark Ronson, who co-produced Duran Duran's last album, 2010's All You Need Is Now. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has previously contributed guitar work, and Mr Hudson has also been in the studio with the band.

"We've got different collaborators on different songs," says the band's John Taylor, "and they are also sort of intermixing, you know? I don't really want to talk about that, yet: the various formulas and the various interactions that are happening, because it's not finished yet."

While Taylor did not elaborate on the direction of the new music (as they are still "assembling the various pieces that make the album"), the band's Nick Rhodes has been slightly more forthcoming about the set's sound. "I think we know where we want to be, and it's right in the center of the dance floor," he recently told the Associated Press. "That's what we're aiming for together."

As the band is not under contract with a record company, they are in discussions with a number of labels for the release of the album, according to their management. For their last album, the band partnered with Apple, giving its iTunes Store the exclusive right to sell the album for its first three months. Then, the group signed a deal with S-Curve Records to issue an expanded version of All You Need Is Now to all retailers.

Next up for the band: They'll play the Formula 1 Grand Prix Weekend Fan Fest in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 1. It's the group's only ticketed U.S. concert of 2014. However, don't expect new music at the show, as Taylor says it's "very unlikely" that they'll surprise the audience with new tunes from the forthcoming album. "When you're coming out with something new," he says, "you want people to hear it really the way that it's meant to be heard. And that's probably not going to be a first-time live performance."

Courtesy BILLBOARD