In November 2022, Peter Gabriel not only revived his Full Moon updates, but also finally announced the release of i/o.
Surprisingly, however, the pre-sale of the tour belonging to the album starts first - without really hearing anything about i/o.
The amazement continues at the beginning of January 2023, when Gabriel announces in the update that a new track will now be released as a download for every full moon, and that the album will be put together month by month "like a Lego construction set". A fortnight later, he adds that there will also always be a release on the new moon: Then the respective track will appear in an alternative version. The titles will be "Bright Side Mix" and "Dark Side Mix" - for which two renowned sound engineers are responsible: Mark 'Spike' Stent for the lighter versions and Tchad Blake for the dark ones. Which mix will be released at which moon phase is to remain open.
Just in time for the waxing crescent moon of January, it is then announced that there will also still be an "In-Side Mix" of all tracks. This is a "3D" Dolby Immersive version, which can only be streamed over the internet via the "Atmos system" of Apple Music or Amazon. The "In-Side Mixes" will be produced by Hans-Martin Buff.
Nothing is said, however, about a release date for the full album. There is only a reference to the updates. How long this download phase will last, how many tracks i/o will have, whether there will also be a physical release - not a word about that. What exactly prompted Gabriel to take this step also remains unanswered.
We in the GNC editorial team are also dismissing all our previous plans to review the release of the album. But if it really remains the case that there will now be single tracks to discuss every month, we will also do that - and have regular updates here.
But it goes even further, because Gabriel announces a few days after the January Full Moon that there will also be a Full Moon Club offer via the Bandcamp portal: A kind of subscription, in which "hardcore" fans can get not only the new release but also other song mixes, demos or explanatory videos. The exact offer will vary from full moon to full moon. The costs are "for a cup of coffee": 3£ (approx. 3,50 € or $) per month.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the track releases for i/o are again accompanied by a work of art. As it has been the case with US (and similarly with Up), Peter and his team have brought together works by various artists that relate to the song in question.
Here at this point we are now gathering all the information available on i/o and its slow release. We will add to the articles and some of their contents piece by piece.
Multi-Artist-Album from 2000, with Elisabeth Frazer, Richie Havens, Paul Buchanan, Neneh Cherry and larla Lionáird. Gabriel himself sings on four.
Review available
New book about the career of Peter Gabriel.