Robert Plant found it ''daunting'' writing a new album.

The Led Zeppelin rocker's latest solo record 'Lullaby and...the Ceaseless Roar' is his first in many years featuring original material and he was initially worried he would find songwriting hard but was relieved to find the words ''flowed'' easily.

He told Billboard: ''All I know is I can do it. There are times when I don't do it and I wonder whether or not I still can... So to be returning to the gift again is slightly daunting, but really it's like a current. It just flowed.

''I had things to talk about, so I wasn't just thinking about some romantic moment sitting in a barroom or anything like that because that doesn't suit where I come from, what I do.''

The 66-year-old rocker returned to his home on the Welsh border to record the album and was delighted to find himself in such inspirational surroundings.

He explained: ''In a way, ironically, being a guy who sang in Led Zeppelin and stuff, I actually just returned to the misty mountains to be honest...

''The Welsh have a totally different culture. They're quite lovely players. But once upon a time their stories were way different than the Anglo-Saxon stories. There were stories of changelings and all this stuff that's inspired by the landscape.

''It's there in this current record, too. I'm here and my feet, my body, my energy, it goes deep into the ground.''