Peter Gabriel reveals a single from an album that’s been in the works for twenty years

Peter Gabriel fans have been waiting for a new album for a couple of decades. His most recent record featuring new material was Up, which came on September 23, 2002. Yeah, there have been two albums since–the covers collections Scratch My Back (2010) and New Blood (2011)–but this is really what fans want.

The long-teased album entitled I/O should be out this year–after all, the man’s going on tour through Europe and North America this year–but there’s no release date yet. However, we do have a single from the record.

“Panopticon” is sounds like…well, Peter Gabriel. It has melodic elements and arrangements reminiscent of what we heard on the “melt” album (his third solo record from 1980) as well as his fourth solo album (1981). I even hear bits of So in the mix. Bassist Tony Levin, drummer Manu Katché, and guitarist David Rhodes are back for the ride.

So what’s it about? Gabriel says “The first song is based on an idea I have been working on to initiate the creation of an infinitely expandable accessible data globe: The Panopticom. We are beginning to connect a like-minded group of people who might be able to bring this to life, to allow the world to see itself better and understand more of what’s really going on.”