Peter Gabriel has released the Dark-Side Mix of “The Court“, the second song from his forthcoming album, i/o.
Released to coincide with this month’s full moon, you can hear “The Court” below.
Written and produced by Gabriel, “The Court” was recorded at Real World Studios in Wiltshire and The Beehive in London, and features contributions from Brian Eno alongside Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché, as well as backing vocals from Gabriel’s daughter Melanie. The orchestral arrangement is by John Metcalfe with Gabriel and was recorded at British Grove Studios in London.
“I had this idea for ‘the court will rise’ chorus, so it became a free-form, impressionistic lyric that connected to justice, but there’s a sense of urgency there,” says Gabriel. “A lot of life is a struggle between order and chaos and in some senses the justice or legal system is something that we impose to try and bring some element of order to the chaos. That’s often abused, it’s often unfair and discriminatory but at the same time it’s probably an essential part of a civilised society. But we do need to think sometimes about how that is actually realised and employed.”
Just like the previous song “Panopticom“, “The Court” will come with differing mix approaches from Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix), Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (Bright-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos In-Side Mix.
“I quite like this idea of the multiple mix approach because for most artists it’s the process, not the product, that is most important,” says Gabriel. “In some ways, I’m trying to open up the process a little more for those that are interested.”
The cover for “The Court” depicts the ritual installation Lifting the Curse by Tim Shaw. “Tim Shaw is a great artist whose work is powerful, political and shamanistic,” says Gabriel. “He has often dealt with tough themes such as war and torture. He grew up in Belfast so experienced the fear and reality of seeing violence around him, which I am sure must have made a deep impression.”
“I don’t know why that particular image was chosen for this track,” says Shaw. “But thinking about it, it could be that when you look at the figure perhaps it stands there to be accused, judged and in this case it’s burnt as a punishment process that takes place.”
As well as new music, Gabriel will tour later this year.
i/o The Tour – Europe 2023
Thursday, May 18: TAURON Arena, Krakow, Poland
Saturday, May 20: Verona Arena, Verona, Italy
Sunday, May 21: Mediolanum Arena, Milan, Italy
Tuesday, May 23: AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France
Wednesday, May 24: Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France
Friday, May 26: Waldbuehne, Berlin, Germany
Sunday, May 28: Koenigsplatz, Munich, Germany
Tuesday, May 30: Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
Wednesday, May 31: Avicii Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Friday, June 2: Koengen, Bergen, Norway
Monday, June 5: Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tuesday, June 6: Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
Thursday, June 8: Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
Saturday, June 10: Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany
Monday, June 12: Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany
Tuesday, June 13: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Thursday, June 15: Arkea Arena, Bordeaux, France
Saturday, June 17: Utilita Arena, Birmingham, UK
Monday, June 19: The O2, London, UK
Thursday, June 22: OVO Hydro, Glasgow, UK
Friday, June 23: AO Arena, Manchester, UK
Sunday, June 25: 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland