Peter Gabriel has released new single, “Looking For The Happy.” The single comes as the ninth released off the upcoming album o/i, and follows a pattern of releases tied into cycles of the moon which started with 2023’s I/O. The Bright-Side mix of the track can be found on Gabriel’s YouTube channel.
“I’ve always found it so much easier to write sad songs than happy ones and I thought, right, I’m going to challenge myself here,” Gabriel shared in a release. “I wanted to base it on a groove that made dancing irresistible, it felt like it was unleashing some joy. Although this is about the search for happiness, it had to have a chorus feeling like a celebration.” The song indeed has a more positive feeling to it, starting with a subtle buildup before kicking into some more whimsical groovy instrumentation around two minutes in.
“If you can find what in today, in the now, is making you happy and what you’re grateful for, I think it’s a much better ride – a better vehicle to travel in – and as I get older, I’m trying to do a little less bitching,” Gabriel continued. “In the song I’m talking about trying to communicate with animals or connecting with nature, or sitting under the old oak tree with a cup of tea and appreciating that. The simple things – opening up to what’s good, while we’re busy complaining about what’s bad. Trying to get a handle on where you fit in life, that’s part of what I write about a lot. Also getting comfortable with two contradictory ideas simultaneously has been part of growing old – like being a part of everything and a part of nothing.”
The cover art for this single, titled “Closed Circuit II”, was created by New York based artist Tishan Hsu.
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