Peter Gabriel Opens Up About New Song, ‘What Lies Ahead’

Peter Gabriel has released another song off his upcoming album, o/i, and he's giving listeners an inside look at what the track is about. The track, "What Lies Ahead (Bright-Side Mix)," is available now.

In a message to listeners, Gabriel shares that he actually performed the unfinished instrumental version of the song during his 2023 tour, but it was a "work in progress" at the time. So, those at his shows got a sneak listen to the track and might recognize it.

He also said that on that tour, "we had our wonderful Scandinavian contingent of Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, who was also playing cello. I'd always liked Linnea’s cello line so it ended up on this final recording. John Metcalfe added some other elements for the orchestral sessions in 2022."

So, the song has a lot of history, even if it is "new" today.

"The song actually began with a melody that my son Isaac was playing with and I thought, oh, that's really nice - I could build that into something," Gabriel said of the track. "It's a song about inventors and invention."

He added, "My dad was an electrical engineer, inventor and I saw him go through the frustrations of not only trying to realize an idea, which has to normally go through so many iterations, but then to sell it, both to the people who've got the money and then to the outside world. So, I've always been curious about the creative process and how that applies to inventors."

Gabriel is scheduled to release a new track from o/i with each full moon of the year, which is exactly what he did with his 2023 release, i/o. There's something to be said for an artist who's been around as long as Gabriel to continue to release new music in such an imaginative way. The full album will arrive by the end of 2026.