Big Time

"The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings," Gabriel says. "I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it"

Peter Gabriel fans endured an interminable two-decade wait between the release of his last two albums of original material, 2002’s Up and 2023’s i/o. But they have reason to rejoice today because Gabriel just announced that his new LP o/i will arrive in 2026, and debut single “Been Undone” is landing January 3.

In a repeat of the slow rollout of i/o, Gabriel will drop a new o/i song every time there’s a full moon. The Wolf Moon hits January 3 alongside the release of “Been Undone,” and there’s one roughly every month until the Cold Moon appears in the night sky on December 23. By that point, the entire album will be out.

“The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings,” Gabriel says in a statement. “I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it. We are sliding into a period of transition like no other, most likely triggered in three waves; 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. These are my lumpy bits –i/o: the inside has a new way out and o\i: the outside has a new way in.”

“We are not, and have never been, the exclusively self-determining, independent beings that have been given the run of the world,” he continues. “We are something else, a part of nature, a part of everything, and feeling a connection, shaking our booty, and giving and receiving some love can help us find our place – and put a big smile on our faces. Some of these songs are going to form part of the brain project that I’ve been exploring for a number of years, and some just make me feel happy. I hope you like them.”

Each o/i song will be paired with a work of art. “Been Undone” is rolling out alongside Ciclotrama 156 (Palindrome) by São Paulo–based artist Janaina Mello Landini. “The way she takes the rope and moves it out, unravelling it, is almost like fractals or tree trunks and looks like the brain in some ways too, so I see a lot of entry points,” Gabriel says in a statement. “I am delighted that Janaina is willing to participate and be part of the process. We are using one of her existing images for this month to open the whole proceedings, but I’m excited that she’s now going to create a piece, especially for the song. That always gives it a little more excitement from my end to see what’s going to come up. Please do check out her work.”

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Sticking again with the pattern of i/o, producers Mark ‘Spike’ Stent and Tchad Blake are creating their own mixes of every song on o/i. Stent’s work will once again be called the “Bright-Side Mix,” while Blake’s tracks are the “Dark-Side Mix.”