New song from Peter Gabriel!

Peter Gabriel has revealed the first new song from his forthcoming album i/o. Written and produced by Gabriel, ‘Panopticom’ was recorded at Real World Studios in Wiltshire and The Beehive in London.

“The first song is based on an idea I have been working on to initiate the creation of an infinitely expandable accessible data globe: The Panopticom,’ says Gabriel. ‘We are beginning to connect a like-minded group of people who might be able to bring this to life, to allow the world to see itself better and understand more of what’s really going on”.

‘Panopticom’ features long-time collaborators Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché, with “electronics” from Brian Eno. Additional backing vocals are from Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath.

The song has been released on the first full moon of 2023 and the lunar phases will guide the release plan in 2023, with a new song revealed each full moon!

‘Some of what I’m writing about this time is the idea that we seem incredibly capable of destroying the planet that gave us birth and that unless we find ways to reconnect ourselves to nature and to the natural world we are going to lose a lot. A simple way of thinking about where we fit in to all of this is looking up at the sky… and the moon has always drawn me to it.’

‘Panopticom’ comew with a specific piece of artwork by David Spriggs, and each new release of music will come with a specific piece of art, “we’ve been looking at the work of many hundreds of artists”, says Gabriel. “It was the theme of surveillance that connected me with the work of David Spriggs because he’d done a piece relating to that. David does this amazing stuff using many layers of transparencies so you get these strange creations with a real intensity to them. Part of what he does is imagine what art might look like a few years in the future and then try and create accordingly and I think he’s done that very successfully in this particular piece”.

Further details on the release plans for the full album will follow but, for now, what do you think of the new song? Leave a comment below.

Full credits for Panopticom

Words and Music Peter Gabriel
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd. / Sony Music Publishing
Engineered by Oli Jacobs and Katie May.
Pre-production engineering by Richard Chappell
Assistant engineering by Faye Dolle
Mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent
Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London
Cover Image: Red Gravity by David Spriggs

Drums: Manu Katché
Rhythm Programming: Peter Gabriel, Oli Jacobs, Richard Chappell
Bass: Tony Levin
Electric Guitar: David Rhodes
Acoustic Guitar: Katie May
Synths: Peter Gabriel
Additional Synths: Oli Jacobs
Bells and Haunting Synths: Brian Eno
Backing Vocals: Peter Gabriel, David Rhodes, Ríoghnach Connolly
Lead Vocals: Peter Gabriel