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Peter Gabriel has announced a follow-up album to his work i/o, which was released in 2023. This has the no less challenging title “oi”.
As with his previous album, Gabriel will release a new song from “oi” every full moon in 2026. It starts this Saturday with the single “Been Undone”. It is not yet clear how many songs the record will have and when it will be released.
By the end of the year, Gabriel will have unveiled the entire album. Each song appears in a “dark side” and a “bright side” mix, like the album before it. The second versions are published on the new moon of each month.
Album release according to moon phases
Each song on “oi” is also accompanied by its own work of art. “Been Undone” features “Ciclotrama 156 (Palindrome)” by São Paulo-based artist Janaina Mello Landini. The press release describes the work as “a mirrored composition built around a central node, allowing the work to be read forwards and backwards – as a visual and structural palindrome.”
Art, structure and associations
“The way she takes the rope and moves it, unravels it, is almost like fractals or tree trunks and also looks like a brain in a way, so I see a lot of entry points,” Gabriel said in a statement that leaves many questions unanswered.
Peter Gabriel also thinks about artificial intelligence and quantum computing on the new album “oi”. He also described the “mixture of thoughts and feelings” that make up the songs on “oi.” Not surprisingly, he deals with sophisticated concepts.
Future, technology and self-image
“I thought about the future and how we might respond to it,” he said. “We are entering a transition phase like no other, which will most likely be triggered by three waves: AI, quantum computing and the brain-computer interface. Artists have the task of looking into the fog and, when they see something, holding up a mirror.”
And to define the album title: “These are my misshapen parts – i/o: The inside has a new way out, and oi: The outside has a new way in.”
“We are not – and have never been – exclusively self-determined, independent beings with the world at their disposal. We are something else: a part of nature, a part of everything. And a feeling of connection, a little shaking of our butt and giving and receiving love can help us find our place – and put a big smile on our faces.
Personal projects and hope
“Some of these songs will be part of the brain project that I have been researching for several years, and others just make me happy. I hope you like them.”