New Order have just announced that they have signed to ace, long-running London imprint Mute. While there's no firm news on when their next album will see release, a press release marking the announcement says that they will be heading back into the studio soon. The news follows recent rumours that the band have been working with former LCD Soundsystem man James Murphy. The new record, when it comes, will be their first without founding bassist Peter Hook. Speaking to Consequence Of Sound last month, the band's frontman Bernard Sumner said: "We made a conscious decision with this next set of material for it to be more synth and dance-based. More dance orientated and keyboard orientated. We're pretty excited about that."

The announcement was just made by Mute boss Daniel Miller at a press conference in London. Miller said: "[It is] a momentous occasion for us all at the label. We are extremely excited to welcome New Order to the Mute family", adding that they have a musical history that "runs parallel to ours, but looks to the future as well."

Sumner said: "We've known Daniel on nodding terms for years. It's something that feels very natural for us. We view it as something more akin to what Factory Records was... Creatively, not the business side of things."

Daniel Miller also paid tribute to former New Order manager Rob Gretton and Factory's Tony Wilson, saying "Wherever they are I hope they approve."

In related New Order news, drummer Stephen Morris will be talking to tQ editor John Doran at this weekend's Festival Number 6. Head here for details on that and read our feature marking the 25th anniversary of Technique, published earlier this year.