In a darkening forest clearing, ever increasing numbers of people sit, lean, lie and generally hide from the inevitable summer downpour whilst a giant floating replica of the moon hovers over them.
We’re at WOMAD about to listen to the world exclusive play through of Peter Gabriel’s new album. If released this year, ‘i/o’ will be Peter’s first studio album of new material in 21 years (anyone familiar with his work will know this is by no means a guarantee!). The general theme of the evening is one of connections. Nature, man, relationships, artificial intelligence and mortality all get a substantial look in and the setting only enhances these.
If you’ve been lucky enough to see Peter on his UK and European tour already this year you’ll have heard a lot of these songs live already but that doesn’t diminish the excitement of hearing them ‘live’ from Real World studios. Opener ‘Panopticom’ was the first song released on the full moon of January 2023 and deals with the power of information. ‘We’ve got WITNESS on the ground, taking in the evidence…’ I particularly enjoy the cheery and light acoustic guitar in the chorus which offsets against the very dark and brooding verses.
‘Playing for Time’, ‘And Still’ and ‘So Much’ (one of Peter’s best ever) all feel very personal and are beautiful reflections of lives lived and times valued.
The title track and ‘Road to Joy’ have that certain something that ‘Secret World’ had previously where by they take on a whole other level live.
The whole experience flies by in just over an hour and judging by the number of people lying on the wet forest floor seemingly oblivious to the falling rain, this album has done what it set out to do – connect and ground us.
Having listened to Peter’s music since my parent’s bounced me on their knees to ‘Solisbury Hill’, I really hope ‘i/o’ gets the release and success it deserves. I count myself very lucky to have been at WOMAD today and thank PG for more great music. (and please not another 21 years!)
Written by: Louise Edis
Track listing:
1. Panopticom
2. Playing For Time
3. The Court
4. Four Kinds Of Horses
5. I/O
6. Love Can Heal
7. Road To Joy
8. So Much
9. Olive Tree
10. Home
11. And Still
12. Live And Let Live
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