Radiohead is heading back to the studio in a week’s time to “take stock” of new material and assess when — and how — it should be released to the world.

Drummer Philip Selway told The Canadian Press the band will regroup next Monday to determine how close the followup to “In Rainbows” is to being ready.

“We’ve been working on material on and off for a year now and we’ve had the summer off so yes, we’re basically taking stock on Monday and seeing what we need to do with the material to move it to those final stages,” Selway said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam on Monday.

“We’re just returning to it with fresh ears and taking stock of where we are and how close we are to finishing stuff, really, and we won’t know till Monday.”

The band is working on the eagerly anticipated followup to its seventh album, “In Rainbows,” which sent shock waves through the music world in 2007 when it was first released digitally online, through the band’s own website, and at an indeterminate “it’s up to you” price. The band also streamed a free concert to fans months later on New Year’s Eve, and Selway hinted the band might have some more digital or online plans up its sleeves — although he wouldn’t say what exactly.

“Whatever we do with any record, it always has to come from the music we’ve made, whatever we release, and because we’re not at that stage at the moment — we haven’t finished anything — we don’t know how or what’s the most appropriate way for getting it out there,” he said.

“Then again, you look at the track record of what we’ve done over the past decade in that area and I suppose, you know, it’s probably a safe bet to say there’ll be something in there somewhere along the line.”

While “In Rainbows” was largely shaped by extensive touring and live experimentation with the songs, Selway said that won’t be the case with the new project.

“Uh, no,” he said laughing.

“I don’t know what we’ll be doing but the process of making ‘In Rainbows’ — so much came about through what we were doing live — has been quite the opposite so far. But you never know, we might get back together on Monday and after discussing stuff we might just throw this all out and say maybe we need to go back to the drawing board. Who knows, as I say, it’s all up in the air at the moment.

“But we’ve been enjoying what we’ve been doing.”

(from 570News, thanks to Caroline)