Peter Gabriel’s latest sonic offering demands a complete surrender to the listening experience. Co-produced alongside Mike Elizondo and sculpted through Mark ‘Spike’ Stent’s definitive Bright-Side Mix, “A Hard Lesson” arrives not merely as a single, but as a complex, evolving narrative. Peter himself frames it best: “It’s a quirky, strange and long track but it’s a journey.” Striking a deliberate balance between avant-garde experimentation and emotional depth, the track rewards deep immersion.
Stream Quirky, strange, a journey. Peter Gabriel – A Hard Lesson. New music for the full moon via the YouTube player below:
Purchase and Stream “A Hard Lesson (Bright-Side Mix)” here: https://lnk.to/PGS40
“This is the oldest track of the project. It probably started in the late 80s or early 90s when I was in Senegal. I was falling in love with the music I heard there. I loved the tension created by the use of polyrhythms, particularly the threes and fours, so that was the start of this song.
It’s a quirky, strange and long track but it’s a journey. It’s about trying to find a place, your place, how you fit in. I’ve enjoyed playing with old R&B and folk references as well.
It’s one of those songs that has been in the ‘almost’ category on a couple of earlier projects but it’s had to wait 30 or 40 years before actually hitting the surface. Sometimes things take time – most people do stuff a lot faster – but I have no problem with understanding my own process. Some things will mature and evolve spontaneously and some will just stay hidden-away in a box until their moment in the light appears.”
This month’s art contains images from a film called Cuentos patrióticos by Francis Alÿs.
The art for “A Hard Lesson” are still images from a film by the Belgian born, Mexico City based, artist Francis Alÿs. His film “Cuentos Patrióticos” was created with Rafael Ortega and references an event in 1968 where civil servants were ordered to congregate in the centre of Mexico City, in response to a student demonstration against the government. Instead of showing support for the government they responded by making sheep noises in protest.
“I saw this image of the pole, the man and the sheep and it leapt out at me. There was no rational argument as to why I was drawn to it but it did seem to be talking about place, so I felt it really worked for the song.In the film Francis Alÿs is seen walking in that same square in Mexico City, followed by one sheep and then other sheep come and join in and they continue around in a circle. It’s quirky and strange and I love it. I think it is a very cool art film, I hope you check out more of his work.”
Over the last week or so Kevin Killen, who originally mixed the “So” album, has been spending some time at Real World Studios. During his visit he has been working on an immersive mix of “Don’t Give Up,” which you can now hear on the selected streaming platforms that support Dolby Atmos audio (Apple Music, Amazon Music & Tidal).
Of this new mix, Kevin says: “It’s an incredible honour and privilege to be entrusted with this iconic song in this immersive format. Peter and I discussed highlighting the juxtaposition of the cold sensibility of the verse vocal against the warmth of Kate’s embrace and in this version I think that contrast is evident.”
Hope you like this new mix and we hope there might be Atmos mixes of other songs to follow. We will keep you updated here!
Purchase and Stream here: https://lnk.to/PG05