IT began with a throwaway suggestion by Belle And Sebastian band member Stevie Jackson.

"I think we were having a meeting when, for a laugh, I said 'let's make a disco record'," says the Glaswegian lead guitarist, as he recalls the roots of their ninth studio album, January's release Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, ahead of Tuesday's sold-out concert at Leeds Town Hall.

"We don't usually consciously say something like, 'hey, let's make a dance record', but for a couple of years I've been in a disco band, The Disco Shark, so I was up for it and there's just more in the air now when we make a record. Our previous record [2010's Belle And Sebastian Write About Love] was more introspective, and every time you react against the last one."

Revivified by listening to vintage Detroit techno and Giorgio Moroder, Belle And Sebastian have looked to new producers too in Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective associate Ben H Allen III, who kicks up a dance party on such highs as The Party Line and Play For Today.

"The Disco Shark just play covers but there's nothing more educational as a musician than looking at how songs work," says 46-year-old Stevie. "Every time I learn a riff, or a scale, or a new chord, I always utilise it."

Stevie sounds more excited by the creation of Girls In Peacetime than any Belle And Sebastian record since their college project debut album, the bookish Tigermilk 19 years ago. "Maybe of all our albums, when I heard Tigermilk back, I thought, 'I had no idea we could make that sound', and I've got that feeling again with this album," he says.

"I'm always chasing that feeling and you very rarely get it. I got it with Tigermilk, where I didn't think we could make that record, and I wanted to be amazed again this time. I wanted to be surprised, by being in new territory, and we did that be working with Ben, who'd just done the Kaiser Chiefs album, though he's a hip-hop producer by trade."

What influence did Ben have on you, Stevie? "With this album, it was mainly about the rhythm, the instrumental sound; he would add other sonic textures," says Stevie. "He didn't mess with the songs. He'd do a few takes; go into his little room and get creative with it. Sometimes we'd play it back and think, 'what's he done with that?'

"For Stuart [principal songwriter Stuart Murdoch], it was more painful, thinking 'what's going on?', so it wasn't comfortable. In fact it was uncomfortable at times, but I could see the benefit of it straightaway, and I thought it was mind-blowing, whereas Stuart would say, ''where's the song; where's the song?'."

Nevertheless, it all worked out for the better, topped off by Stuart's suggestion for the album title, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance. "It just felt right," says Stevie. "I don't know exactly what it means but they're the best titles, as opposed to Belle And Sebastian Write About Love."

Belle And Sebastian play Leeds Town Hall on Tuesday; doors open at 7pm. Sold out