“Ideally, I would like to be a realistic optimist”

Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Tuesday December 5, 2023: British singer-songwriter, Peter Gabriel. After 21 years of absence, he returns with a new album, “I/O”.

Peter Gabriel is a rare, atypical, inhabited, passionate and exciting artist. Over time, he knew how to dynamite the codes and clichés of English rock. Since he was fifteen and the birth of the group founded with Tony Banks, the Garden Wall which later became Genesis, he has become a mediator, a conduit, with the sole aim of uniting, of bringing together to share what is beautiful. In the beginning, there was Genesis, with his roles as storyteller, actor, disguised and made-up entertainer. And since 1975 and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, he continued solo by infusing futuristic and ancestral music. Strong titles followed like Biko, Don’t give up, Sledge Hammer Or Solsbury Hill. From his album Up released 21 years ago, fans’ patience was severely tested. She ended up paying off with, since last January, the release of singles every full moon and a new album. I/O (abbreviation of “input/output”, entry/exit) with twelve titles offered in three versions: “bright-side”, “dark-side” and “inside” mixed by Mark “Spike” Spent, Tchad Blake and Martin Buff.

franceinfo: What does this album represent for you?

Peter Gabriel: I’ve always been making music all this time. But I didn’t feel the pressure to release something until I was ready. I wanted to have a life other than just being a professional musician. I did a lot of things during that time, but there were a lot of things stuck. After a while I realized that with everything I had, I could make a story out of it. And it was a good way to come back.

You have released a title every full moon since January 2023, so almost every four weeks. For what ?

First of all, I always liked doing things differently, but I also thought it was a way to reconnect with the world we are a part of. The sun rises and sets every day and the moon appears once a month. We can not care at all and get on with our lives. But, sometimes, it’s good to see the big picture and reconnect with the big outside, that is, the universe.

The title that opens each version is Panopticom, which is a “Peter Gabriel-style” counterproposition to the panopticon, a building which allowed a guard housed in a central tower to observe all the locked prisoners. You are proposing that we redistribute power to the people and redistribute the cards, is that what you wanted to put forward?

Exactly. It’s like a person, who plays with stones at the beginning and someone comes with a big gun and he has all the powers at once. So the new tools that are being created, like artificial intelligence, are extremely powerful. So we all need to have access to these super powerful tools, since what changes is time. So there is a big philosophical discussion about who should have access to artificial intelligence, and we need to think about that very seriously and very quickly. It’s incredible to have this idea that every child born in the world will have access to any knowledge thanks to the Internet and artificial intelligence.

In “I/O”, you address life and the universe and our connection to the world around us. You say, “I’m just a part of everything.” What does it mean ?

There is a lot of human life that focuses on this man-made world, but we tend to forget that we come from nature. We came from it but we used it and destroyed it very quickly. But when we look at the sky, we realize how small we are. Believed to be on individual islands. But in many traditions around the world, we are seen as a large network of life. And to me, that’s a much more useful way of looking at ourselves.

You also say that we are on borrowed time. Are you worried, angry or optimistic?

I am sure that pessimism leads nowhere. Because we are ultimately depressed and therefore, what is the point of continuing to live. But at the same time, I read that, even if optimists do a lot more things, pessimists are sometimes more in touch with reality. So ideally, I would like to be a realistic optimist.

We’re talking about the song “And Still”. I don’t think there is anything more intimate in this whole journey since you are approaching the moment when your mother left this world. It wasn’t that long ago. It’s a tribute that you pay him. What do you keep from her?

Music, empathy, love of animals. She was passionate, enthusiastic. But she could also have a lot of control. And that caused me problems, it took me a long time to get out of it, that’s for sure, but it allowed me to realize the deep love I had for her. This song, I couldn’t do it right away when it came out. So I waited six years.

Did music save you as a child? ? Did she allow you to say things? ?

Yes. It was already exciting. I started on drums and I remember sitting next to a drummer who was playing in a band and I was like, “Wow, this is exciting. They’re making big noises, they’re hitting hard and it’s That’s what I want to do.” I didn’t want to take piano lessons. My parents said I would regret it later. I regretted it, it’s true. But anyway, I came back to the piano at 11 or 12, learning two or three notes at a time and it was as a songwriter that I could escape. Thanks to that, by writing, my mind escaped from the prison of the world. And then when you’re working as a musician and you really start putting things together, you don’t always know what’s going on. And when you know that, it’s such a powerful feeling. It’s very addictive.

Finally, Peter, what is your view on this journey? ? On what you have already brought with this new album “I/O” ?

I am happy with the way it is received. I hope it will touch people. I think some of my favorite songs and music have helped me think and come out of very difficult times, made me happy, made me dance and I hope this record will provoke a little bit of all that in people.