With the release of title track and lead single Blackstar last week, anticipation for what direction Bowie takes this time around is already proving a hot topic of discussion.

Now Bowie's legendary producer Tony Visconti has fuelled interest further by stating to Rolling Stone the involvement of James Murphy on percussion.

However fans should not expect the electronic infectious approach taken by LCD Soundsystem but rather, it seems that rap maestro Kendrick Lamar has been the inspirational figure behind the album.

"We were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar," Visconti tells Rolling Stone. "We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do. The goal, in many, many ways, was to avoid rock & roll."

Blackstar is expected in January.