Peter Gabriel releases a new track and a new version of “Don’t Give Up” – Video

The rollout of “o/i”, the new recording project by Peter Gabriel, continues to unfold, built around the release of one track with every full moon. The British artist has now unveiled “A Hard Lesson”, a song that will feature on the album and that, as Gabriel himself has explained, has roots stretching far back in time. The English musician has revealed that it's the oldest piece included in the project: the first ideas date back to the late Eighties or early Nineties, during a stay in Senegal. Fascinated by the local music and its rhythmic structures, Gabriel began developing the core of the composition at that time, but kept reworking and refining it over the following decades until arriving at the version released today. Written by Gabriel and produced together with Mike Elizondo, the track is presented in the “Bright-Side Mix” curated by Mark “Spike” Stent.
Here's “A Hard Lesson” below.

In a video accompanying the single's release, the musician recounted the song's long evolution: “This is the oldest track on the project. It was probably born between the late Eighties and early Nineties, when I was in Senegal. Mi stavo innamorando della musica che ascoltavo lì. I loved the tension created by the use of polyrhythms, especially groups of three and four, and that’s where this song started from. È un brano eccentrico, strano e lungo, ma è un viaggio. It’s about trying to find a place, your own place, and figuring out how to fit in. I also had fun playing with old references to R&B and folk music. It’s one of those songs that stayed in the ‘almost’ category through a couple of earlier projects, but it had to wait 30 or 40 years before it could really come out. Sometimes things take time – most people do things a lot faster – but I have no trouble understanding my own process. Some things mature and evolve on their own, others just stay hidden away in a box until their moment comes to see the light of day.”

The release of "A Hard Lesson" also coincides with the fortieth anniversary of "So", Gabriel's fifth solo album, released in 1986. To mark the occasion, the artist has also made available a new Dolby Atmos mix of "Don't Give Up", the celebrated duet with Kate Bush. The new version was produced by Kevin Killen, who was also responsible for the original mix of "So" at Real World Studios.

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