As we reach the new moon of September, the North American tour is already five shows old and it’s time for the Dark-Side (Tchad Blake) and In-Side (Hans-Martin Buff) mixes of “Love Can Heal” to be released.
‘I was trying to create this sensual palette,’ says Peter, ‘and I think with the work that Buff’s been doing on the immersive mix, you’re getting this sense of being touched in many places and it should be a place just to drift off into. That’s my aim.’
In the past Peter has talked a bit about the role that music can play in helping us deal with certain situations that we might face in life and “Love Can Heal”, he hopes, can have a part to play too; ‘I know I bang on about this emotional toolbox and how one of the roles of songs is the potential to change how you feel and change your mood according to what you’re listening to. Hopefully, “Love Can Heal” has its place in this emotional toolbox.’ That role is hinted at strongly in the current live show, where Love Can Heal sits very deliberately, and effectively, next to the song “Darkness” in the set;
“Love Can Heal (Dark-Side Mix)”, released on the new moon of 15th September 2023. Dark-Side Mix by Tchad Blake.
Written and produced by Peter Gabriel, “Love Can Heal” is ‘a dreamy, experiential piece with some abstract imagery,’ says Gabriel, ‘a carpet of sound, a tapestry where things are woven together, but not necessarily supposed to stick out, but just form part of a whole.’ Love Can Heal is a song that has been performed during the recent i/o tour, but actually had its live premiere during Peter Gabriel and Sting’s Rock, Paper, Scissors tour of North America of 2016. ‘Love Can Heal” was written around 2016 and I did start playing it midway through the tour and dedicated it to Jo Cox, who was the British MP brutally murdered by an extremist and someone that I had met at a leadership conference.
I think the song fits right in to the themes of the album in the sense that i/o is about feeling and being connected to everything and in a way, the next evolution of being connected to things is a feeling of love for everything.’” and “Love Can Heal” together in the sense that “Darkness” is about going into the fears that maybe you have to re-open in order to get the air in and get them sterilized. Things that are left in the dark just get fertilized and grow. When exposed to daylight I think they get sorted. If you’ve got a sense of love being offered to you it is like a healing balm that can create an environment in which things can get better. So, in a way, those two songs do belong together.’
Finally, as mentioned at the start, the North American tour is fully underway now. There’s a day off today (Friday) and then Philadelphia, we’re on the way to you next!
The Fat Angel Sings 