The four albums Robert Plant has released over the last decade have displayed the Led Zep singer’s affinity for folk music, both in its natural and hybrid form. One of Led Zeppelin’s great contributions to rock was its adventurous layering of musical elements culled from all corners of the globe, a trait Plant has employed with tremendous distinction for decades and continues on his next release.

“The May Queen,” the first song released from Plant’s upcoming Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Records album Carry Fire, incorporates gospel, blues, Middle Eastern rhythms and a deployment of the guitar in circular style that’s part raga, part Leo Kottke. It goes without saying that his voice is simply divine.

Plant says, "It's about intention, I respect and relish my past works but each time I feel the lure and incentive to create new work. I must mix old with new. Consequently the whole impetus of the band has moved on its axis somewhat, the new sound and different space giving way to exciting and dramatic landscapes of mood, melody and instrumentation".

Carry Fire, set for release on 10/13, is Plant’s 11th album and he is again accompanied by The Sensational Space Shifters: John Baggott on keyboards, moog, loops, percussion, drums, brass arrangement, t'bal, snare drum, slide guitar, piano, electric piano, bendir; Justin Adams on guitar, acoustic guitar, oud, E-bow quartet, percussion, snare drum, tambourine; Dave Smith on bendir, tambourine, djembe, drum kit; and Liam "Skin" Tyson on dobro, guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel, 12-string.

Chrissie Hynde joins Plant on Ersel Hickey’s the duet "Bluebirds Over The Mountain"; Albanian cellist Redi Hasa and violist/fiddler Seth Lakeman perform on three tracks.

Plant and the Space Shifters will embark on a world tour starting in November.