Gabriel releases his tenth studio album in time for the holidays
After a yearlong campaign of releasing a new song on the occasion of every full moon in 2023, Peter Gabriel finally unleashes his highly-anticipated i/o album in full. The project features 12 songs, with three mixes of each — Bright-Side Mix handled by Mark “Spike” Stent, Dark-Side Mix reshaped by Tchad Blake, and Atmos In-Side Mix courtesy of Hans-Martin Buff — giving the album multiple perspectives that are sure to make your mood rise and fall with each respective listen.
i/o is Gabriel’s tenth studio album and marks his first LP since 2011’s New Blood, but his first of all new material in over 20 years. Recorded mostly at Real World Studios and Gabriel’s home studio, the English musician has enlisted his longtime band with famed producer and long-time associate Brian Eno, his daughter Melanie, and others, as contributors. The boundary-pushing artist continues to explore the realms of pop music by mixing artistic musicianship and computer programming while delivering intellectual lyrics that question life and the universe.
The 36-track project features a variety of instrumentation including the typical guitar, bass, and drums paired with percussion, piano, horns, cello, and other instruments that are typically programmed in pop music. The avant-gard-sounding album provides a 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. Some singers’ voices age with time, but Gabriel’s is as strong and distinct as it was during his Genesis days 50 years ago.
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, including 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.
The Bright-Side and Dark-Side versions are included in a 2 CD package and are available separately as double vinyl albums. A three-disc box set containing the Bright-Side and Dark-Side mixes on 2 CDs, with the In-Side Mix and 24/96 hi-res stereo mixes on Blu-ray Audio, is also available. A 4 LP, 2 CD, and Blu-ray box set with foil blocked, clamshell box with obi-band, expanded liner notes, and a poster will be released on March 8, 2024.
