On the full moon, Friday, May 5, Peter Gabriel releases the next track from his forthcoming album i/o. This month the song is "Four Kinds Of Horses", and first-up is the Bright-Side Mix.
Written by Peter Gabriel and produced by Peter Gabriel and Richard Russell, "Four Kinds Of Horses" was recorded at Real World Studios in Wiltshire, The Beehive and Copper House in London.
Says Gabriel: "'Four Kinds Of Horses' actually began on Richard Russell’s project Everything Is Recorded. He’s a friend (and founder of XL Records) and he asked me to pop in to his studio. I came up with some chords, melodies and words on top of a groove he was working on. We tried a few things that didn't altogether work and so it laid dormant for quite a while. Then I started playing around with it again and changed the mood and the groove and something else began to emerge with a better chorus."
There were a number of things that triggered ideas for the song as it developed, including the Buddhist parable of the Four Kinds of Horses, which describes different ways a student can approach their spiritual practice. There is also a focus on “the interesting overlap of religion and peace on the one hand and violence and terrorism on the other. There was also a wonderful film by Hany Abu-Assad called ‘Paradise Now’ which shows two young men who end up being trained to become terrorists and it's a real insight into where the head goes.”
As well as Russell, who set things in motion, "Four Kinds Of Horses" also features Brian Eno on synths which “sounded like electric worms to me,” says Gabriel. “As soon as I heard one I thought they would make a great three dimensional wall paper of sound and asked Brian to create eleven more.” John Metcalfe again provides string arrangements, “beautiful work and as the song progresses, the strings play a key role” and backing vocals from Peter’s daughter Melanie, “another lovely moment for a dad.”
Continuing the theme of working with a different artist for each song release, this month’s track is accompanied by a cover image featuring the work of Cornelia Parker.
Gabriel: "This month we have a fascinating artist, Cornelia Parker, who does some extraordinary work. When we were originally looking at the Art from Us project, I'd seen some of her stuff with exploding rooms and had been fascinated by that, so I'm really happy that she agreed to work with us on this. The photogravure technique of William Henry Fox Talbot was an inspiration for her in this piece, and some of the other glass-based images in the series. I fell in love with this particular work - it's called ‘Snap'."
Just like the previous full moon releases, "Four Kinds Of Horses" will come with differing mix approaches from Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (Bright-Side Mix). Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos mix (In-Side Mix), released later in the month.
As well as new music, Peter Gabriel is about to embark on a tour with dates in the UK, Europe and North America.
i/o - The Tour will see Gabriel playing new material from his forthcoming album i/o, as well as delving into his peerless catalogue of music, with hits, fan favourites and the unexpected. For the shows, Gabriel will be joined by regular band-mates Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché.
Tour dates:
May
18 - Krakow, Poland - Tauron Arena
20 - Verona, Italy - Verona Arena
21 - Milan, Italy - Mediolanum Arena
23 - Paris, France - Accor Arena
24 - Lille, France - Stade Pierre-Mauroy
26 - Berlin, Germany - Waldbuehne
28 - Munich, Germany - Koenigsplatz
30 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
31 - Stockholm, Sweden - Avicii Arena
June
2 - Bergen, Norway - Koengen
5 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
6 - Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis
8 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
10 - Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena
12 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclays Arena
13 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
15 - Bordeaux, France - Arkea Arena
17 - Birmingham, UK - Utilita Arena
19 - London, UK - The O2
20 - Nottingham, UK - Motorpoint Arena
22 - Glasgow, UK - OVO Hydro
23 - Manchester, UK - AO Arena
25 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
September
8 - Quebec City, Quebec - Videotron Centre
9 - Ottawa, Ontario - Canadian Tire Centre
11 - Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
13 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
14 - Boston, Massachusetts - TD Garden
16 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wells Fargo Center
18 - New York, New York - Madison Square Garden
20 - Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena
22 - Buffalo, New York - KeyBank Center
23 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - PPG Paints Arena
25 - Columbus, Ohio - Nationwide Arena
27 - Cleveland, Ohio - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
29 - Detroit, Michigan - Little Caesars Arena
30 - Chicago, Illinois - United Center
October
2 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Fiserv Forum
3 - St. Paul , Minnesota - Xcel Energy Center
7 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
8 - Seattle, Washington - Climate Pledge Arena
11 - San Francisco, California - Chase Center
13 - Los Angeles, California - Kia Forum
14 - Palm Springs, California - Acrisure Arena
16 - Denver , Colorado - Ball Arena
18 - Austin, Texas - Moody Center
19 - Dallas, Texas - American Airlines Center
21 - Houston, Texas - Toyota Center
(Photo - Nadav Kander)
