Fiona Apple will release her long-awaited third album via Epic Records this autumn, though internet leaks will mean that many fans are already familiar with most of the songs on it.

Eleven tracks from the album, entitled Extraordinary Machine, were leaked on the internet amid claims that Epic had shelved the record because it was not thought to be commercial enough. However, fans and critics alike have been extremely enthusiastic about the new songs, some even running a campaign of online and street protests against the record label.

The album, which was produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent) Brian Kehew will be released in the US on 4th October with a new double A-side single, O’ Sailor/Parting Gift, released through iTunes on 16th August. O’ Sailor is also available to hear on Fiona’s MySpace page (www.myspace.com/fionaapple) and Parting Gift can be heard by anyone signing up to her mailing list.

“Now that my album is finally finished, I am very, very excited to have people hear what we did – I am so proud of it, and all of us who worked on it.” says Fiona Apple.

Fiona Apple released her debut album, Tidal, in 1996 at the age of 19 and in 1998 won a Grammy for the song Criminal, which was taken from the album. Her second, When The Pawn… (the full title of which is 90 words long, earning it the world record for the longest ever album title) was less critically acclaimed though remains a firm favourite with many fans.

The official release of Extraordinary Machine will still bring some surprises to fans who downloaded the leaked version. In addition to the fact that sound quality will be much better, it is reported that the record has been completely reworked

Full details of the album, single and a competition to see Fiona Apple live are available at her official website: www.fiona-apple.com.