On the eve of returning to the studio to commence writing new Duran Duran songs, I am thrilled that we seem to have preserved the same overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation that we had the very first time we wrote together. It is fair to question to ask why those feelings have not diminished and why has our passion not faded? Why do we still work together? Why do we want to write more songs? Won't we simply be going through a familiar routine?

I was able to reaffirm my thoughts earlier this week whilst we were filming a TV special together. The show is called Songbook, and features artists playing songs and discussing their approach to writing them. During the interview I listened closely to what the other band members had to say and it could not have been more refreshing and inspiring. As our process began to unravel in front of the cameras, it became clear that at heart, we remain an art school project, we are driven by exploration and curiosity. We don't like to limit where the journey takes us and we are not dictated to by commerce. We don't give in until we have got what we want. Taking a chance is vastly more appealing than repetition.

We love what we do, even though we would be the first to admit it's an ongoing experiment, the results have kept us busy for a while now, so thanks for being there with us as we try to figure this thing out...

Love from London (where it is snowing),

Nick