Peter Gabriel will release his 'Scratch My Back’ album project on February 15th 2010 on Virgin Records. The album is the first part of a series of song exchanges in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other’s songs.
The album features interpretations of songs originally by recorded by Radiohead (Street Spirit), Neil Young (Philadelphia),Paul Simon (Boy In The Bubble) Arcade Fire (My Body Is A Cage), Lou Reed (The Power Of The Heart), Talking Heads (Listening Wind), Bon Iver (Flume)and many more.
To help craft his recording of the album’s eclectic array of cult favourites and classic tracks, Gabriel enlisted former Durutti Column member John Metcalfe, composer, arranger and the expertise of producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd’s 'The Wall’, Lou Reed’s 'Berlin’) and engineer, mixer and producer Tchad Blake (Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits).
Gabriel describes this as a very personal record with twelve songs performed only with orchestral instruments and voice. He made the choice not to include guitar or drums. The album’s richly diverse sounds include the sparse romance of Lou Reed’s 'The Power of the Heart’, the powerful musical journey of Elbow’s 'Mirrorball’ and an epic arrangement of Arcade Fire’s 'My Body Is A Cage.’
Gabriel and his collaborators recorded the album at George Martin’s Air Lyndhurst Studios and the Real World Temple with further editing and mixing at his own Real Worlds Studio in Wiltshire. The first public hearing of the album came when Peter Gabriel opened his set at last summer’s WOMAD festival with a performance of Paul Simon’s 'The Boy In The Bubble.’
The album’s interpretation of The Magnetic Fields’ cult classic 'Book of Love’ has become a YouTube sensation since soundtracking the departure of Zach Braff’s character J.D. at the end of eighth season of Scrubs. The most viewed video of the track has already amassed a million views, while other versions of the same video have amassed a further million views.
'Scratch My Back’ will be launched with two London O2 Arena shows as part of The New Blood Tour 2010. The shows, on March 27th and 28th, will present stark and emotional arrangements that will see Peter Gabriel backed by a full orchestra – there will be no guitar or drum accompaniment.
Tickets for the shows are available now at a price of £50 and £40. Ticket bundles are also available exclusively from www.womadshop.com. They include a priority ticket to the gig, access to the show’s soundcheck, a New Blood Tour t-shirt, an event access laminate and a copy of the 'Scratch My Back’ album on CD.
Peter Gabriel’s first came to international prominence with the success of Genesis, a band that he co-founded while still at school. Since leaving Genesis in 1975, his recording career has included seven studio albums, acclaimed film soundtracks for 'Birdy’, 'The Last Temptation of Christ’ and 'Rabbit Proof Fence’ as well as live and compilation albums. His wider musical career has included multiple Grammy Awards and the creation of the now global WOMAD festival.
Peter Gabriel co-founded the human rights organisation Witness.org in 1989 and in 2007 the Elders.org was launched by Nelson Mandela, which was founded by Peter Gabriel and Sir Richard Branson. In 2006 Peter Gabriel was awarded the prestigious Man of Peace title by The Nobel Peace Laureates. He has also engaged in a wide variety of tech-based businesses throughout a variety of creative industries.
Many thanks to Hyperlaunch Media for this informaion.
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