Stromae sees years before next album

 Belgian singer Stromae, whose danceable yet sometimes philosophical songs have proved a runaway success, says that he may need years to "heal" himself before recording a third album, AFP reports.

Stromae, in an interview with Complex magazine, said that he hoped to keep his "sanity" and spend time with his family after the triumphs of his 2010 album "Cheese" and last year's follow-up "Racine Carree."

"I think the success of the second one was so huge that it would take lot of time to just have a normal life and actually be normal, so maybe I will leave two or three or even four years out before making another -- I'm not sure," the 29-year-old told the magazine.

"I don't think it's natural to have this kind of attention," he said. "I think I'll need a few years to heal myself."

Stromae, whose real name is Paul Van Haver, quickly topped the charts in the French-speaking world and increasingly had made inroads elsewhere with his keyboard-based electronica accompanied by a voice that glides from old-style French "chanson" to hip-hop.

Kanye West released a remixed version of Stromae's hit "Alors On Danse," off "Cheese," while more recently the Belgian World Cup team made his song "Ta Fete" its official song.

Born to a Flemish mother and a Rwandan father absent during his youth who was killed in the 1994 genocide, Stromae's stage-name means "maestro" in verlan, the French slang of mixing syllables in words.