Peter Gabriel released the title track to his upcoming album, i/o. The new single features South Africa’s Soweto Gospel Choir.
While a release date for i/o has yet to be revealed, the new record marks the legendary singer-songwriter’s first studio album since 2011’s New Blood. As with previous i/o singles “Panopticom,” “The Court” and “Playing For Time,” “i/o (Bright-Side Mix)” — additional mixes will arrive later in April — is out in conjunction with the full moon. Gabriel detailed the i/o title track.
“This month the song is i/o and i/o means input / output. You see it on the back of a lot of electrical equipment and it just triggered some ideas about the stuff we put in and pull out of ourselves, in physical and non-physical ways. That was the starting point of this idea and then trying to talk about the interconnectedness of everything. The older I get, I probably don’t get any smarter, but I have learned a few things and it makes a lot of sense to me that we are not these independent islands that we like to think we are, that we are part of a whole. If we can see ourselves as better connected, still messed up individuals, but as part of a whole, then maybe there’s something to learn?”
Peter also spoke about teaming back up with the Soweto Gospel Choir, who he worked with on the track “Down to Earth” for the film Wall-E as well as in live performances for Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
“I didn’t always hear the Soweto Gospel Choir on this song, but every time I’ve worked with them it’s always been fantastic,” Gabriel said. “You can just feel the energy whenever they sing on this record, and on the song I did for Wall-E, it’s just joyous. It hits you in the heart.”
“i/o (Bright-Side Mix)” features artwork from Olafur Eliasson. Listen below:
Peter Gabriel will tour North America solo for the first time since 2012. Check out the i/o Tour dates and ticket info:
