On October 10, Sting will release an album of lute music, according to Billboard. It will be called Labyrinth and feature songs from the 16th century as well as lute arrangements of "Fields Of Gold" and "Message In A Bottle." Lute player (lutist? luter?) Edin Karamazov provides the lute. (Karamazov, by the way, is from Sarajevo, and not a character from 19th century Russian literature.)
It's a move that absolutely nobody is calling a return to Sting's iconic new wave roots, but Sting's hoping it will catch on anyway. From the article:
I think this is a longer shot than [O Brother, Where Art Thou?] but … why not? The response so far has been very encouraging. People have said, 'Wow, this is totally different. How refreshing.' I don't know–that may translate into mass appeal or it may not.
It may or it may not. We will have to wait and see.