It goes without saying that we are living in strange times as music fans; gigs and festivals are being cancelled, album releases are being pushed back or scrapped, and the future of the music industry is uncertain in many ways.

So the news that spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is releasing his debut album next month seems perfectly normal. After all, Pope Francis released his own album in 2015.

The octogenarian Dalai Lama will release 'Inner World' on July 6th - which also happens to be his 85th birthday. Better late than never, as they say.

It's a collection of various chants and mantras from the Tibetan spiritual guru. It came about after New Zealand couple Junelle and Abraham Kunin recorded conversations with him and set them to music for the first time.

Needless to say, some of the reactions to the news have been amusing...