The reaction to Thomas Dolby [ tickets ]'s return to the music industry last year has inspired the synth-pop icon to write his first album of new music since the early '90 and hit the road for another round of spring dates.

So far, Dolby has scheduled a handful of March shows in California and Texas, including a March 15 performance at Austin's South by Southwest music festival. Details are listed below.

The spring touring ensemble will feature real-time looping on a computer laptop along with The Jazz Mafia horn section, which comprises San Francisco jazz players Adam Theis on trombone, Rich Armstrong on trumpet and Ron Cohen on tenor sax.

The gigs follow Dolby's co-headline run late last year with fellow electronic pioneer BT.

Dolby returned to the road last spring after a 15-year hiatus from the music business. In November, he released a CD and DVD, both titled "The Sole Inhabitant," capturing live performances from his comeback tour. The packages were released on Dolby's own label and are available via his website as well as CDbaby and iTunes. They feature live versions of his hits including "She Blinded Me With Science" and "Hyperactive."

"In some ways, all that chart success was orthogonal to what I was really trying to do, which was develop the textures and rhythms of electronic music into a palette that a genuine songwriter could build stories upon," Dolby said in a statement. "I hope that the DVD and CD helped re-establish my credentials as an artist before I move into the next chapter. I have new songs ready to start work on as soon as I've closed the loop and reconnected with the core fan base."

"The Sole Inhabitant" sets are Dolby's first releases since 1992's "Gate to the Mind's Eye," an audio and laser-disc package with accompanying animation.

Dolby, a five-time Grammy winner, left the traditional music biz to start Beatnik Inc. in 1993. The company created the ringtone software used in two-thirds of the world's mobile phones, according to a press release.

New technologies and changing business models in the music industry reinvigorated the innovative artist, prompting him to return to the road and the recording studio.