Peter Gabriel has finally pulled back the curtain on o\i, his upcoming album, and it turns out he has been building it one moon at a time. Each track arrived as a single, timed to the full moon, with two mixes and a commissioned piece of visual art. Now the full record is coming together, and Gabriel has revealed the release date, the guest list, and the ideas behind it.
Singles Under the Moon
Gabriel released a single for every full moon, and each one came with two mixes. The Bright-Side version was mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent, while the Dark-Side mix was handled by Tchad Blake. Ten tracks have been heard so far:
| Track | Position on the album |
|---|---|
| “Been Undone” | #1 |
| “Put The Bucket Down” | #2 |
| “What Lies Ahead” | #3 |
| “Till Your Mind Is Shining” | #4 |
| “Won’t Stand Down” | #5 |
| “A Hard Lesson” | #9 |
| “I Belong To The Sky” | #11 |
| “One By One” | #8 |
| “Looking For The Happy” | #12 |
| “Face The Wall” | #10 |
The Release Date
The album is out on Nov. 27, and Gabriel has spoken directly about the songs themselves. “The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings,” he says. “I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it.”
He points to three forces reshaping society: 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 adds. He also pushes back on the idea of humans as independent beings.
“We are not, and have never been, the exclusively self-determining, independent beings that we imagine we are. We have had a sense of entitlement that everything exists for our benefit — that we’ve been given the run of the world to exploit as we see fit.”
The Band and Guests
Gabriel wrote and produced the record himself, recording it at Real World Studios and his home studio. The core band includes guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Manu Katché. Other members of the i/o touring band join in, including Richard Evans, Josh Shpak, and Don E.
Real World staffers Faye Dolle and Katie May appear on the record. The New Blood Orchestra, the Soweto Gospel Choir, and the Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar round out the ensemble. Notable contributors include Brian Eno, Mike Elizondo, who co-produced “A Hard Lesson,” guitarists Leo Nocentelli and Tony Berg, drummer and percussionist Abe Rounds, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeter Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson, and multi-instrumentalist Evan Smith. Gabriel’s daughter Melanie provides vocal support.
The Visual Art
Each single also came with a commissioned piece of visual art. The list runs long: Janaina Mello Landini, Tomás Saraceno, Judy Chicago, Tatsuo Miyajima, Shirin Neshat, Juan Genovés, Roelof Louw, David Altmejd, Fracis Alÿs, Tadashi Kawamata, Berndnaut Smilde, Tishan Hsu, and Michal Rovner. Gabriel invited each artist to create a response to the music.
The cover artwork comes from photographer Nadav Kander.
What the Title Means
Gabriel explains the title as a matter of passage. “This is how I see the lumpy bits — i/o: the inside has a new way out and o\i: the outside has a new way in,” he says.
The tracklist shows the full scope of the record. It runs 13 tracks, with “Who Are We Talking To?” and “Yes, It Will Go” sitting between “Won’t Stand Down” and “One By One.” The closer is “Sacrament.”
Our View
This is a record built on trust. Gabriel has asked artists, musicians, and friends to contribute their voices to a project that has unfolded slowly, one moon at a time. The single releases were a gift to listeners, giving them a song before the full picture was ready.
The album’s themes — technology, humanity, and connection — are heavy. Gabriel’s argument is that we are not separate from the world around us, and that recognizing that can bring joy. Whether the music matches the ambition is a question for Nov. 27.
Source material: “Peter Gabriel Announces Details For His New Album o\i,” Stereogum.
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