Peter Gabriel: documentary on "So" airing on Rai5. Meanwhile the new single has been released

Peter Gabriel recounts the genesis of the album “So“, released in 1986, in a documentary directed by George Scott, airing on Rai5 on Friday 20 February at 11:50pm. Considered his most successful work, as well as his most musically accessible, “So” transformed Gabriel from a cult artist into an international superstar. The album received unanimous critical acclaim, praised for its sound and fusion of different genres, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Meanwhile, a month after the release of “Been Undone“, initially released in its Dark-Side version, Peter Gabriel continues rolling out the tracks that will make up his upcoming album “o/i”, expected in full by the end of the year. The new single is titled “Put The Bucket Down” and comes in the Bright-Side Mix, confirming the dual-perspective structure running through the whole project. As with the previous track, this one too is accompanied by a visual artwork. In this case it's “Cosmic Spider/Web” by Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno, an image depicting three spider species — Cyrtophora citricola, Nephila senegalensis and Holocnemus pluchei — which also serves as the album's official cover art.

Gabriel places the track within a broader arc tied to a parallel show he has been working on for some time: a narrative project centered on the brain as its conceptual core. “Put The Bucket Down” marks a point where the line between independent thought and outside influence grows blurry, calling into question the very origin of ideas and consciousness. Musically, the piece is built around what the artist calls an “unbalanced loop”, an irregular rhythmic structure that found its full expression through work with the band. During the orchestral sessions, Gabriel brought in John Metcalfe for an essential, minimal part, while the horns take on a central role thanks in part to contributions from Paolo Fresu in the studio and Josh Shpak in live performances.

The English musician's new record project arrives as a direct follow-up to “i/o” (2023) and picks up its conceptual framework: once again, Gabriel will release a track with every full moon, building toward the release of the complete album by the end of the year.

Presenting the album, Gabriel stated: “I'm happy to say that tonight, with the full moon, we begin a new year of monthly releases under the name 'o/i'. The songs are a collection of thoughts and feelings. I've been thinking a lot about the future and how we might respond: we're entering an unprecedented period of transition, probably triggered by three main waves, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and the brain-computer interface. Artists have the job of looking into the fog and, when they catch a glimpse of something, holding up a mirror. We are not, and never have been, fully self-determined, independent beings given free rein over the world. We are something else, we are part of nature, part of everything, and feeling some kind of connection, moving our backsides and giving and receiving a bit of love can help us find our place, and put a nice smile on our faces,” Gabriel added.

The English composer has summed up the relationship between the two albums as a kind of complementary diptych: “i/o” represents “the inside finding a new way out”, while “o/i” is “the outside discovering a new way in”. It's a reflection that extends into a less individualistic vision of humanity, seen as an integral part of nature and of a larger whole, where emotional and physical connection becomes a tool for finding one's place.

Some of the new songs, he added, will feed into the “brain project” Gabriel has been working on for years, while others simply come from a desire to spread joy. “I hope you like them,” he concluded.

In a different context, Gabriel also recently thanked director Josh Safdie for featuring his track “I Have The Touch” in the film “Marty Supreme“, starring Timothée Chalamet.

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