Coincidence or cosmic flow? Peter Gabriel was in the audience at what was probably the last Genesis concert in March. After the end of the show in London there was a big hello and pat on the back for an epochal reunion. The former companions toasted in the backstage area with a hearty Prog Rock drink.
Barely three months ago, various British media outlets are unanimously reporting that Gabriel will be releasing his first album in over 20 years. “Up” was released in 2002, and since then the busy all-rounder has been busy with production engagements for all kinds of multimedia projects and NGO campaigns.
In the album matter, drummer Manu Katché is quoted from the French magazine “L’Illustré”, who also has the prospect of a tour there with Gabriel in the coming year. NME backed the hiatus with Gabriel’s own statement last month that he “wants to finish a lot of songs” and “hopes to have something out by the end of the year.”
“Easy Enough Songs”
As early as 2020, the master himself had talked about progress in the development of new music in the UK specialist magazine “Uncut”: “I’m excited about what’s being prepared at the moment – I’ve been pretty slowed down by the pandemic lockdowns. For example, we couldn’t have my engineer Dickie with us at times. But there are easily enough songs I like to make a record I’m proud of.”
When asked if the album would be out soon, Gabriel replied vaguely and concretely at the same time: “It depends on how you define SOON, but the answer is yes!”
Gabriel’s varied background work can also be heard on Arcade Fire’s latest album “We”, in the song “Unconditional II (Race and Religion)” he even sings. “To me they are a great band and they asked me,” Gabriel told NME. “That’s the simple truth. They are great songwriters and it was really fun. Very interesting to see how other people work.”