Eccentric rock star Prince has just announced that he will be releasing not one, but two albums in the United States in September 30th.

According to Rolling Stone, Prince has not but out a record in the United States in five years, with the last album being the 20Ten LP.

On September 30th, both Plectrumelectrum, a long-awaited collaboration album with all-female musical group 3rdEyeGirl, and his solo LP, ArtOfficialAge, will be released on Prince's official website, and includes both pre-orders and “instant gratification” downloads.

Rolling Stone also notes that the Prince will also be running a promotional tour, with special events and live performances around the world. While the details of the tour have not been detailed, it will most likely be leading up to the album’s release.

According to Rolling Stone, the LP, ArtOfficialAge, will apparently have a mix of genres and sounds, forming a combination soul, R&B, and funk, and is being promoted as “classic Prince,” emphasizing the musician’s role in producing, arranging, composing, and, of course, performing the music (alongside Joshua Welton, a singer and songwriter).

Plectrumelectrum, on the other hand, is being toted as a “classic band album” and a “electrifying funk-rock statement.” The album will feature Prince with 3rdEyeGirl. When asked by Rolling Stone to comment about his experience of working with a band, Prince said, “No one can play like this band. People are going to try, but they won't be able to.”

As noted by Gigwise, Prince announced the collaboration with 3rdEyeGirl in the beginning of the year at a press conference at Lianna La Havas' house, and did a series of guerilla-style surprise gigs in London to promote the album.

The album, Rolling Stone notes, was produced by Warner Bros. records, the label with which Prince made a notorious split with in the 1990s after wearing the word “slave” on his face to speak out against his contract. "When you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave," Prince said. "That's where I was. I don't own Prince's music. If you don't own your masters, your master owns you."

In his current contract, Prince owns the masters to his recordings.

Warner Bros. Chairman & CEO Cameron Strang, issuing a statement about the albums, stated, "Prince is one of just a handful of visionary artists who have truly reshaped and redefined modern music and culture. For the past 35 years, he has never stopped evolving, challenging himself, reinventing his sound and pushing boundaries. In true Prince fashion, he has just given us not one, but two extraordinary albums that express the incredible range and depth of his talent. All of us at WBR are immensely proud to be working with Prince to bring this brilliant new music to his legions of fans around the world, and needless to say we are thrilled to be working in partnership with him again."

Prince has already made a video for “Breakfast Can Wait,” which can be seen below.

As noted by Rolling Stone, a digitally remastered rerelease of Purple Rain is planned to be released by Warner Brothers, but no date has been set yet.

The track list for both albums can be found on Rolling Stone.

Photograph courtesy of INFPhoto.com