Peter Gabriel has shared the album’s first preview track, “i/o,” marking the 21-year wait for his first album of new material. Panopticom features the musical talents of Brian Eno on keyboards, David Rhodes on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, and Manu Katché on drums.

Gabriel composed and produced the song, which was recorded at Wiltshire’s Real World Studios and London’s The Beehive.

“The first song is based on an idea I’ve been working on to begin developing an indefinitely expanded accessible data globe: The Panopticon,” Gabriel says.

As the author puts it, “we’re starting to link a network of like-minded people who could bring this to reality, to allow the world to better see itself and grasp more of what’s actually going on.”

This first song was released to coincide with a full moon, suggesting that the i/o concept takes a novel approach to the distribution of its songs. The album is scheduled for publication in 2023.

“A big part of what I’m writing about this time is the notion that we humans appear immensely capable of destroying the planet that gave us birth, and that unless we find ways to reconnect with nature and the natural world, we’re going to lose a lot.

Looking up at the sky is a simple way to contemplate our place in the universe… and the moon has always intrigued me.

The album has yet to receive a firm release date, but it is expected to come out in the early part of the year given that the Englishman has already announced a tour, his first series of shows since 2014, with 22 concerts beginning on May 18 and making stops in Poland, Verona, Milan, Paris, Berlin, and other cities until June.