Peter Gabriel Releases “Live and Let Live"

Written and produced by Peter Gabriel, "Live and Let Live" is a song about forgiveness, tolerance and optimism

Share 


New Releases category interest

Monday 27 November, the twelfth full moon of 2023, sees the release of the final track to be revealed from Peter Gabriel’s new album i/o. This final song, the last to be written for the album, is called "Live and Let Live".

 

In a break from previous months, all three mixes are released simultaneously, the Bright-Side Mix by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, the Dark-Side Mix by Tchad Blake and the Atmos In-Side Mix by Hans-Martin Buff.

 

The song is accompanied by the striking ‘Soundsuit’ artwork of Chicago based artist Nick Cave.

 

Written and produced by Peter Gabriel, "Live and Let Live" is a song about forgiveness, tolerance and optimism. A joyous, rousingly-positive closing note for the album

 

‘Music can be like a box of mood pills that we can use to treat ourselves and a lot of the work of the Reverberation project is focused on that sort of idea. When someone suggested that forgiveness might be a topic to write about, at first, I thought, ‘that's not interesting to me,’ but then I remembered two things. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was the chair of The Elders and a real mentor for me, led the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa and that really allowed people to expose, report and maybe feel again some of the horrors of the apartheid era. I remember he always said that listening made a huge difference, just making sure people felt heard and recognized. Then, sometimes, it created a space for forgiveness.

 

There's also a description that Nelson Mandela gave when he was released from jail after 27 years in prison and found himself about to become president of South Africa, standing next to some of the people who'd been responsible for keeping him in jail all that time. He said he felt some of the old fear and hatred swelling up inside him but when he thought hard about it, he realized that he needed to find a way to work with these people, to build what he called his rainbow coalition. He needed to feel their humanity and ultimately to find a way to forgive them. He was quite sure that if he couldn't forgive them and find a way to work with them, that he would remain their prisoner for the rest of his days.

 

Now, I know if we look at what's happening in the Middle East now or in Ukraine, all sorts of places around the world where there's still violence and brutality, to walk around with a bunch of flowers, preaching forgiveness seems trite and pathetic, maybe. But in the long run, I think people have to find a way. ‘Peace only happens when you respect the rights of others’ is a quote from the Peace University in Costa Rica and I think that's a really important message for me and for my life. You either belong to that hurt or you free yourself and forgiveness is clearly a super effective way of freeing yourself.’

 

"Live and Let Live", the last song to have been written for the album, features contributions from many players already heard on other songs, such as Tony Levin, David, Rhodes, Manu Katché, Brian Eno, Melanie Gabriel, John Metcalfe and the New Blood Orchestra. Notable other contributions come from Steve Gadd ‘wonderful grooves created with brushes’ that are looped at the start of the song, some beautiful trumpet by Paolo Fresu ‘soulful and poetic’ and the return of the singers of Soweto Gospel choir ‘great voices and this deep soulfulness, their additions are always wonderful for me.’

 

These November full moon releases all come with artwork ‘Soundsuit’ by Nick Cave.

 

‘Nick Cave does a lot performance, movement and dance work, but these extraordinary figures, for which he is best known, ‘Soundsuits’, are amazing. They are like armour. Beneath all this exuberant colour you can’t actually sense the race, the class, the wealth or the gender of the person wearing the Soundsuit, so, you have that sense that you are not going to get attacked for pre-conceived ideas about who you are or what people like you are like… it’s a very positive spin on a negative situation. Nick’s work is very interesting and unusual and I am very glad that he was happy to be part of this.’

More Photos

Share 

More from New Releases

Katy Perry Releases 1432: The Deluxe Edition Featuring Four New Tracks
New Releases

Katy Perry Releases 1432: The Deluxe Edition Featuring Four New Tracks

Released today via Capitol Records/Universal Music Canada in digital format, the new edition features four additional tracks, including the never-before released “OK,” alongside the album’s original 11 songs

Acclaimed Actor Ben Barnes Shares New Single ‘Nevermind’
New Releases

Acclaimed Actor Ben Barnes Shares New Single ‘Nevermind’

 

Taken From The Upcoming Debut Album  ‘Where The Light Gets In’ Out 10th January

The Velveteers Rally Against Misogyny In The Music Industry With “On And On”
New Releases

The Velveteers Rally Against Misogyny In The Music Industry With “On And On”

Just-Announced 2025 Tour Includes Dates In Los Angeles, Austin + Denver Album Release Party

Elton John Unveils New Video for “Step Into Christmas” Featuring Cara Delevingne
New Releases

Elton John Unveils New Video for “Step Into Christmas” Featuring Cara Delevingne

The new video reimagines what it was like behind the scenes for the now iconic original 1973 visual

The Cures
New Releases

The Cures "Songs of a Live World" at Troxy London MMXXIV Out Now

The live recording will be available on 1CD and 1LP

“Heal The Divide” Official Music Video From Morgan Toney Out Now
New Releases

“Heal The Divide” Official Music Video From Morgan Toney Out Now

his gripping music video depicts the story behind Donald Marshall Jr.'s wrongful conviction

Sign up forArtistAndFan Newsletters

Keep in touch with everything onArtistAndFan. Sign up for our newsletter!
 








Stats
Elapsed time: 2.1648 seconds
Memory useage: 2.79MB
V2.geronimo