Peter Gabriel releases new single Panopticom, with Brian Eno providing “haunting electronics”

Peter Gabriel has released Panopticom, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming album i/o, which he announced in November last year.

Written and produced by Gabriel, and recorded at his Real World Studios facility in Wiltshire and The Beehive in London, Panopticom is underpinned by “haunting electronics” from Brian Eno. Other contributors include long-time Gabriel collaborators Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché, with backing vocals provided by Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath.

“The first song is based on an idea I have been working on to initiate the creation of an infinitely expandable accessible data globe: The Panopticom,” says Gabriel. “We are beginning to connect a like-minded group of people who might be able to bring this to life, to allow the world to see itself better and understand more of what’s really going on.”

Gabriel says that the release plan for i/o will be guided by 2023’s lunar phases, with a new song being released on each full moon. This being the case, we should expect the next track on 5 February.

“Some of what I’m writing about this time is the idea that we seem incredibly capable of destroying the planet that gave us birth and that unless we find ways to reconnect ourselves to nature and to the natural world we are going to lose a lot,” Gabriel explains. “A simple way of thinking about where we fit in to all of this is looking up at the sky… and the moon has always drawn me to it.”

Peter Gabriel has also announced a European tour in support of i/o - this kicks off in Krakow, Poland on 18 May 2023. Dates in Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK will follow. The tour will conclude in Dublin, Ireland on 25 June 2023; you can expect North American dates in the late summer/fall.

Find out more on the Peter Gabriel website.