The pop star’s first new album in more than 20 years will be available this fall

At the end of a year in which Peter Gabriel has released a new song on the occasion of every full moon, as well as performed live to rapturous audiences throughout the UK, Europe and North America, December 1st sees the release of his much-anticipated new studio album, i/o.

i/o features 12 tracks of grace, gravity and great beauty that provide welcome confirmation of not only Gabriel’s ongoing ability to write stop-you-in-your-tracks songs but also of that thrilling voice, still perfectly, delightfully intact. Throughout the album the intelligent and thoughtful – often thought-provoking – songs tackle life and the universe.

Recorded mostly at Real World Studios and Gabriel’s home studio, the lengthy gestation of i/o means it has a sizeable cast list. Peter has kept his trusty inner circle of musicians close to hand, which means guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katché are sterling presences throughout. Several songs bear the fingerprints of long-time associate Brian Eno, whilst there are notable contributions from Richard Russell, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeters Josh Shpak and Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and keyboard player Don E. Peter’s daughter Melanie contributes warm backing vocals, as does Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath, while Real World regulars Richard Chappell, Oli Jacobs, Katie May and Richard Evans collectively provide programming and play various instruments. Soweto Gospel Choir and Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar lend their magnificent harmonies to a selection of tracks, and the mass strings of the New Blood Orchestra, led by John Metcalfe, both soothe and soar.

Renowned for being a boundary-pushing artist, i/o is not simply a collection of a dozen songs. All 12 tracks are subject to two stereo mixes: the Bright-Side Mix, handled by Mark “Spike” Stent, and the Dark-Side Mix, as reshaped by Tchad Blake.

“We have two of the greatest mixers in the world in Tchad and Spike and they definitely bring different characters to the songs. Tchad is very much a sculptor building a journey with sound and drama, Spike loves sound and assembling these pictures, so he’s more of a painter.”

Both versions are included on the 2 CD package and are also available separately as double vinyl albums. A third version – the In-Side Mix, in Dolby Atmos, comes courtesy of Hans-Martin Buff  “doing a wonderful job generating these much more three-dimensional mixes” and is included in a three-disc set, including Blu-ray.

Continuing the idea developed for Gabriel’s Us and Up albums, he has again invited a range of visual artists to contribute a piece of art to accompany the music and each of i/o’s 12 songs was handed to a world-renowned artist to create an accompanying work, whether painting, photography, sculpture or even Plasticine. A dozen artists make an exceedingly impressive team of collaborators: Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Olafur Eliasson, Henry Hudson, Annette Messager, Antony Micallef, David Moreno, Cornelia Parker, Megan Rooney, Tim Shaw, David Spriggs and Barthélémy Toguo.

Another visual link with Gabriel’s past work is the cover shot. Taken by photographer Nadav Kander, it echoes the covers of his earlier albums, always present but, with the exception of So, intriguingly obscured or manipulated.

These echoes of the past might resonate, but i/o is fundamentally an album of – and for – the here and now. Many of its themes may be timeless, but they’re also warnings that we’re living on borrowed time, both as a planet and as individuals.

The i/o Tour comes to an end in North America with the final three shows in Texas this week.

1. Panopticom
2. The Court
3. Playing for Time
4. i/o
5. Four Kinds of Horses
6. Road to Joy
7. So Much
8. Olive Tree
9. Love Can Heal
10. This Is Home
11. And Still
12. Live And Let Live