“I’m just part of the whole,” he sings. Peter Gabriel With his velvety voice in the chorus of “I/O”, the song that gives the title of the new album that arrives more than 20 years after the previous one. The interconnectedness of living beings is one of the main themes in the work in which the 73-year-old British singer-songwriter reflects on the passage of time, love, forgiveness, and life as a whole.
Are we today more interconnected or more focused on ourselves?
“The Internet and social media allow us to stay connected, but they also require our attention to make money. But this feeling that some people have before they die or when they take drugs or meditate, gives us the idea that there is something much bigger than what we see in everyday life. “We are little atoms in a single system, and we have to remember that.”
It would also be useful to keep this in mind in relation to the climate crisis. Will we overcome it?
“There is no point in being pessimistic because then you might give up. Seeing people who want to change things for the better has a positive impact and I want to surround myself with those kind of people.”
Given the ongoing conflicts, do you see people fighting for change?
“There are them in many fields. However, if we look at Israel and Palestine, an agreement must be reached, otherwise the carnage will continue. I have supported Palestine for a long time because it has suffered massive oppression, but what happened to the Israelis was brutal and shocking. “It will only end when people sit down at a table and talk.”
The passage of time is very present on the album. What did you learn growing up?
“To run less fast and learn to say no to people more.” Maybe you learn to be yourself more. Then if we look at the progress that biomedicine has made, we will find that longevity is one of the most interesting areas. “We may be entering a different world, and if we survive the climate crisis, we will have to try to build a society that is generous and fair for all.”
Are you also thinking about artificial intelligence?
“When he becomes more intelligent than men, there will be extraordinary possibilities to change the world, and I hope for the better, but it will be up to us to understand how to use it: it can make us free or slaves.”
“And Still” is a dedication to his mother, who died 6 years ago. Was it difficult to write?
“Yes, it took a while because I had a lot of conflicting feelings. She loved me dearly, just as I loved her, so I needed some distance so I could write something real.”
What memories do you have of your childhood?
“Christmas, the beach, summer afternoons, riding the tractor with my dad and working on our farm…so many fond memories.”
Paolo Freso played on one of the songs. How did you meet him?
“Someone sent me a beautiful jazz version of one of my songs, “What lies ahead”. When I heard him I thought he would be a great musician to work with. “I didn’t know yet that we had a common relationship with Sardinia.”
Do you keep going there?
“I love going there. It’s my second home and it makes me happy, especially when there aren’t many tourists.”
Do you remember when you were a guest in Sanremo in 1983?
to”I think I’m famous for the scene in which I threw myself into the audience with a rope, but then at the risk of hurting myself badly, I crashed into the stage: I know I made two-thirds of Italy laugh.
Last year he went to the last Genesis concert as a spectator.
“I went because Genesis was born when we were students and we worked hard to get things started, so I wanted to be there at the end, for friends of many years. It was a mixture of sadness, warmth and friendship, although it is no longer my band, but a different creature. We have a lot “From history together and it was nice to be there.”
How were the first days?
“I was the one who bothered the group: they didn’t know we had to pay bills and find dates. There were two or three occasions where it didn’t look like we were going to be able to go further, so the first success was great. We also have many good memories of Italy: we went there in the summer when there was no work in England. We played in discos, football stadiums, theaters wherever they paid us.”
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