Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Seal [ tickets ] is giving fans a window into the recording process of his new album via a personal blog he's been publishing at his website.

"The new record is really shaping up and is turning out to be much [more] of a dance record," Seal wrote in a recent entry about his follow-up to 2003's "Seal IV." "This is something that I've always wanted to do seeing as most will say that dance is my background. Over the years I've somehow become more known for my ballads which I also love doing but dance music has always been close to my heart. Make no mistake, there will also be a killer ballad or three on this record but at this point in my life I really want to make something that is more dance directed."

Seal [ tickets ] went on to say that the forthcoming release will likely feature a shorter tracklisting compared to his previous full-length efforts.

"I cannot tell you the last time I sat in front of my superfabuloso hifi and listened to one of my favorite albums in its entirety, there simply isn't the time these days and I feel that this is pretty much the case for a lot of people. Also I believe that for too long, the public has been short changed with substandard albums meaning that too often, a fan has bought an album based on one or two hit singles that he or she has heard on the radio only to find that the album was full of fillers.
I also feel that it would be easier for me to retain a higher level of quality over lets say six songs as opposed to a twelve song album."

The singer added that he has already come up with six songs--"Swoosh," "Silent," "Wedding Day," "I've Been Almost Everywhere" and "You and Me"--that will "surely be making it" onto the forthcoming album.

On Wednesday (2/20), Seal posted at his blog a video clip of himself and a collaborator working on the cut "Swoosh."

"As you can hear, there aren't final lyrics by any stretch of the imagination," he wrote in a message that accompanied the video clip, "but I just wanted to share with you all a unique insight in the writing/creative process of a song. The most important part to me has always been the vowels and how they sound within the context of the song. If 'sounds/vowels' are right, then the lyrics will almost tell you what they're supposed to be about. I find that this is the most effective and enjoyable way to write a song, sort of 'doing without doing.'"

In addition to posting material from his work-in-progress album--which he hopes to release this summer--Seal is also planning to post a streaming version of "Togetherland," an album he originally planned to release in 2001, but ultimately shelved and went back to the drawing board to create "Seal IV."