On Wednesday, I interviewed Thomas Dolby for EM’s upcoming October-issue cover story on online collaboration. During the interview, Dolby revealed (exclusively to EM) that he’s about to start work on a new album, which is going to be recorded completely “off the grid.”

“What that means is that it’s going to be powered entirely by renewable energy,” Dolby explained. “It’s going to happen on land and at sea. On land, I’m going to build a hut in a field close to where I live, which will be powered by a wind generator and solar panels, and it will have a rainwater collector. I’m going to use that as my studio.”

But that’s only part one of recording process. “Then, in some of the later periods of the album,” Dobly said, “I’m going to actually go to sea. And I’m working with some sponsors to fund a sailboat, which I’m going to take to exotic places around the world, and do my work as I go.” He plans to use a satellite Internet feed (powered by solar and wind sources) to collaborate with musicians elsewhere, while he’s on the boat. These remote sessions will be facilitated by eSession [www.esession.com], an online collaboration site. He said he plans to document the process on video and by blog (keep an eye out for news of it on his blog at Thomas Dolby.com).

We’ll have more from the Thomas Dolby interview in the online collaboration cover story, and in a special podcast (at www.emusician.com), which will be released at the time the October issue comes out in mid September.