Ex-Sugababe Keisha Buchanan readies 'fresh' solo album

Page last updated at 05:31 GMT, Thursday, 21 July 2011 06:31 UK

Keisha said she 'never planned to be solo' when she was in The Sugababes

Ex-Sugababe Keisha Buchanan has told Newsbeat she's in the studio working on a "fresh" solo album.

The 26-year-old singer revealed she is working with US producer Dallas Austin, who has made music with Michael Jackson and Madonna, among others.
"I think there is no particular musical direction, it's just a vibe," she said.
Keisha left The Sugababes in 2009 but said she "never planned to be solo" and that she "can't talk about" the reasons for the split.
'International sound' "Legally I can't go into too much detail... I've got no hard feelings towards anyone and I understand that life has to go on."
She admitted to feeling "down" in the months after her time in the band ended.
"I felt really confused, I think a lot of people were confused.
"They weren't the only ones 'cos it was a shock to me to hear some of the things that were put out there," she added.
Keisha showed Newsbeat the designs she has had painted on her nails
As she continues to work on her solo album, she said she had made a point of taking some time off before making her comeback.
"I know a lot of the times when someone leaves a group they rush into it.
"That was the last thing on my mind," she added.
"So this year I've been making sure that I don't rush it, making sure that the image was right and just doing music that I love to do.
"I think that's where it starts, you need to really love the music that you do," she said.
She went on to reveal that her debut album would be mostly produced by Future Cut, who have made tracks for Lily Allen, Shakira, and Professor Green.
She also said that she had co-written songs with Cathy Dennis, who wrote Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Britney Spears' Toxic.
"It's an international sound but not necessarily pop music or R&B music," she said.
And she added that there was no fixed date for the new material.
"Every time we lock down there's always someone else who wants to work with me.
"I haven't exactly got a set date - the most important thing to me is to make sure that the album is fire," she said.