Ben Folds to record with novelist Nick Hornby

Ben Folds has revealed plans to record an album with English novelist Nick Hornby. The collaboration follows Ben Folds' playful fake-album leak, without which the Hornby partnership "wouldn't have been possible".

"Nick Hornby and I are talking about doing a record where he writes all the lyrics and I write the music," Ben Folds told News.com.au.

In July 08, Folds recorded six songs in eight hours and released them as 'leaked' tracks from forthcoming album Way To Normal. The speedy turnaround inspired the singer-songwriter to hook-up with the High Fidelity scribe: "[We will] write and record it in about three days, just like we did in Dublin with the fake record. It's fun - I'm excited about it. It wouldn't have been possible without the fake album."

Folds had nothing but praise for Hornby's songwriting prowess, either: "His lyrics are great. These are really good words. Some of [the lyrics] he felt hit close to the bone about certain things, certain named people, and we've been juggling how to keep from making a record that's going to get sued."

This isn't the first time the creative duo have worked together, having co-written That's Me Trying for William Shatner in 2004 (thanks Kris). Nick Hornby also included Ben Folds Five's Smoke in 31 Songs - a book of essays about Hornby's favourite music.