Peter Gabriel releases a new song about the "pursuit of happiness" – Listen to "Looking For The Happy"

A new full moon, a new song from Peter Gabriel. The British musician has released “Looking For The Happy”, an eight-minute-long track that previews the upcoming album “o\i” and continues the unusual release schedule already used in 2023 for “i/o”. For now, only the “Bright-Side Mix” is available, while the “Dark-Side Mix” will arrive with the next new moon.
Having often explored melancholy and introspective territory, this time Gabriel chose to tackle a theme that comes less naturally to him. “I've always found it much easier to write sad songs than happy songs, so I thought, right, this time I want to push myself”, he explained.

"Looking For The Happy" is not, however, simply a cheerful song. The verses retain a reflective quality, while it's mainly the chorus that opens up into something liberating and celebratory. At the heart of the track is a rhythm that initially took shape with Latin overtones, designed to engage the listener physically as well. "I wanted to start from a groove that made you want to dance, that gave a sense of releasing a certain kind of joy. Even though the song is about the search for happiness, the chorus had to convey a sense of celebration. If you can find what makes you happy right now, in the present, and what you're grateful for, I think life becomes a much better journey, a better way of getting through life, and as I get older, I'm trying to complain a little less," he said.

The happiness Gabriel evokes comes through simple gestures and a renewed ability to connect with what surrounds us: communicating with animals, getting closer to nature, or sitting under an old oak tree with a cup of tea, learning to appreciate the present moment. It's an invitation to notice what is good, rather than focusing only on the negative. "Groove has always been hugely important to me: if I don't feel it in my body, everything becomes much harder. Of course there are songs I write that aren't groove-based, but this is one where the groove clearly helped shape the track," Gabriel added.
"Looking For The Happy" follows the other tracks already released from "o\i": "Been Undone", "Put The Bucket Down", "What Lies Ahead", "Till Your Mind Is Shining", "Won't Stand Down", "A Hard Lesson", "I Belong To The Sky" and "One by One".

As with the previous releases tied to the project, the new single is also paired with a work of art. The choice fell on "Closed Circuit II" by Tishan Hsu, a piece created in 1986 that bears a curious resemblance to the old Instagram logo, despite having been made many years before the social network even existed. Gabriel explained that he was fascinated by the work's ability to combine an almost childlike simplicity, reminiscent of Miró and Paul Klee, with technological references and the suggested presence of a face. It's an image that is at once empty and emotionally intense, in which the musician recognised the same themes explored by the song: the relationship between technology, nature, consciousness and humanity. "It's fantastic when you discover that something which instinctively felt right also has all these other connections, which help make music and art feel like part of the same whole. In a way, we're all trying to peel the same orange and get to the same fruit."

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google