Peter Gabriel has released the Bright-Side Mix of the title track from his forthcoming album, i/o.  

Written and produced by the musician, the song features Soweto Gospel Choir, who were recorded at High Seas Studios in South Africa, and inspired his latest project, which centres on the “interconnectedness of everything”.

Of the single and its release, he says: “This month the song is i/o and i/o means input / output. You see it on the back of a lot of electrical equipment and it just triggered some ideas about the stuff we put in and pull out of ourselves, in physical and non-physical ways. That was the starting point of this idea and then trying to talk about the interconnectedness of everything. 

“The older I get, I probably don’t get any smarter, but I have learned a few things and it makes a lot of sense to me that we are not these independent islands that we like to think we are, that we are part of a whole. If we can see ourselves as better connected, still messed up individuals, but as part of a whole, then maybe there’s something to learn?”

Gabriel’s collaboration with Soweto Gospel Choir isn’t his first; they previously featured on the song Down to Earth, that was recorded for the film ‘Wall-E’, and he’s also performed with them twice in South Africa at events for Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.

“I didn’t always hear the Soweto Gospel Choir on this song, but every time I’ve worked with them it’s always been fantastic,” adds the former Genesis star. “You can just feel the energy whenever they sing on this record, and on the song I did for ‘Wall-E’, it’s just joyous. It hits you in the heart.”

Listen to i/o below.

‘i/o’ – the album – will follow later this year, alongside which the hitmaker will embark on a tour with dates in the UK, Europe and North America.

Tickets for the global run of shows are on sale now.