Peter Gabriel Releases New Single Put The Bucket Down (Bright-Side Mix)
Monday, 02 February 2026
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Nadav Kander
Peter Gabriel has released a new single, Put The Bucket Down (Bright-Side Mix).
Following Been Undone, which dropped on the first full moon of the year in January, the gently propulsive track serves up warm synths over a looping, shuffling groove and marks the second preview of the British music legend's new album, 'o/i', the follow-up to 2023's 'i/o'.
Following the same lunar theme as 'i/o', each single from 'o/i' is being released in sync with the lunar cycle, accompanied by two mixes, a Dark-Side Mix by Tchad Blake and a Bright-Side Mix by Mark "Spike" Stent, with the full album expected at the end of 2026.
Written and produced by Gabriel, Put The Bucket Down (Bright-Side Mix) arrives alongside February's full moon, known as the Snow Moon, with the Dark-Side Mix set to be released later in the month on the new moon. Gabriel said:
"As a side project, I am working on a show with the brain as the central core and there are a number of songs, some on i/o and some on oi that will be part of that. This is one of those and it's a point in the narrative where we can both read and write thoughts and the person singing is not sure whether he has his own thoughts or not. Is he inside his own mind or inside someone else's?
"The ‘bucket’ is all the crap that goes around our head all the time, so it is putting the bucket down to find your way forward…
"I started building rhythmic elements around, what I call a lop-sided loop and got quite excited. When we had the band play it, it really came to life so that feels good for me. The band and me working away is the bulk of the song, but when we were in the orchestral sessions I asked John Metcalfe to come up with a part – it was scribbled out on the day in the studio – which is ridiculously simple, but it serves the song nicely.
"We’re also blessed with horn players. I was very lucky on the last record to play with Paolo Fresu and then Josh Shpak on the tour and they’ve both done a version of the instrumental melody on this too."
Each track also arrives alongside a piece of art, with Put The Bucket Down accompanied by Cosmic Spider/Web by Tomás Saraceno and three different types of spiders; Cyrtophora citricola, Nephila senegalensis and Holocnemus pluchei. Gabriel explained:
"I’m delighted this month that we have an artwork created by Tomás Saraceno and 12 spiders who are credited with authorship on this. He’s a really interesting artist and his Aerocene project was the first thing that I came across.
"This work, integrating with nature and co-creating with spiders, is fascinating. I think it’s a beautiful thing and somehow there seems to be a connection with webs and nature and the brain so, for me, it fits right in. In this case, Tomás heard the music and chose this image as something that he thought was appropriate. Thank you to Tomás and his team and please check out what he does."
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