With his 1982 song “I Have the Touch” enjoying new visibility thanks to its inclusion in the Timothée Chalamet-starring film Marty Supreme, Peter Gabriel is turning his attention to his next studio album, o\i. The project’s lead track, “Been Undone,” can be sampled below in its Tchad Blake-helmed Dark-Side Mix.
“I’m delighted to say that tonight, at the full moon, we will be beginning another year of full moon releases under the name o\i,” Gabriel wrote on his web site of the follow-up to 2023’s i/o. “The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings. I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it. We are sliding into a period of transition like no other, most likely triggered in three waves; AI, quantum computing and the brain computer interface. Artists have a role to look into the mists and, when they catch sight of something, to hold up a mirror.”
He continued, “these are my lumpy bits i/o: the inside has a new way out and o\i: the outside has a new way in. We are not, and have never been, the exclusively self-determining, independent beings that have been given the run of the world. We are something else, a part of nature, a part of everything and feeling a connection, shaking our booty and giving and receiving some love can help us find our place — and put a big smile on our faces. Some of these songs are going to form part of the brain project that I’ve been exploring for a number of years, and some just make me feel happy. I hope you like them.”
As with i/o, the songs will be released once a month through December with mixes from Blake and Mark “Spike” Stent, whose creations are called Bright-Side mixes. Each track is also accompanied by custom artwork; this time, it’s Ciclotrama 156 (Palindrome) by São Paulo–based artist Janaina Mello Landini.
“The way she takes the rope and moves it out, unravelling it, is almost like fractals or tree trunks and looks like the brain in some ways too, so I see a lot of entry points,” Gabriel said of the image.
Gabriel has not played live since wrapping the i/o tour in Houston in October 2023. Watch him talk in greater detail about the upcoming album here.
