It was a simple idea; to create a festival out of all the brilliant music and art made all over the world, stuff made outside of the mainstream – music that wasn’t getting on the radio and was even harder to find in record stores… the very first WOMAD Festival took place at the 240-acre Bath and West Showground, Somerset, UK over the weekend of 16–18 July, 1982. With the dream ‘not to sprinkle world music around a rock festival, but to prove that these great artists could be headliners in their own right’.

Across the three days ‘an evening concert series’ took place in the Showering Pavilion on the festival site. On the Friday night that concert featured Tian Jin (a song and dance troupe from China), Simple Minds and, with a ‘special festival set of non-album material’, Peter Gabriel.

'Live at WOMAD 1982' is a recording of that Friday night concert. The non-album material in question are seven of the eight songs that would make up the album 'Peter Gabriel 4' (Security). An album that wouldn’t be released for a further two months.

On-stage, Peter is joined by David Rhodes (guitar), John Giblin (bass), Larry Fast (synthesisers). Jerry Marotta (drums), Peter Hammill (vocals) and “the wonderful Bristol-based drum and dance group,” Ekomé (drums, percussion).

“I remember this gig well. We played a mix of old and brand-new material. I would normally be very nervous about playing some of this stuff for the first time, however my mind was very preoccupied with the running of our very first WOMAD festival and the potential financial disaster that it was heading towards.

"Because WOMAD was unique in its focus on music and art from around the world, and mixing it with up with rock and jazz, no-one knew how many people might turn up and we had seriously overestimated our appeal. But those that had decided to check out WOMAD and its weird and wonderful lineup were open-minded, bold and curious - a great audience. It was a landmark and edgy gig for me both personally and musically and brings back lots of memories.”- Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel’s 'Live a WOMAD 1982' takes us back to not only the birth of a festival – one that has now hosted more than 160 editions in 27 countries - but also to the premiere of an album with songs, like The Rhythm of the Heat, San Jacinto and Shock the Monkey, that have become central to the Gabriel canon. More than just a live album, Live at WOMAD 1982 is a pivotal moment..

TRACK LISTING

1. San Jacinto
2. The Family And The Fishing Net
3. I Have The Touch
4. Lay Your Hands On Me
5. Shock The Monkey
6. I Go Swimming
7. The Rhythm Of The Heat
8. Kiss Of Life
9. Biko

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 18TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM (BST) ON MONDAY APRIL 20th).

April 1986, Peter Gabriel released the single Sledgehammer, the first and trailblazing single from the album So, that followed in May. April 2026 is 40-years since that first release and the anniversary will be celebrated with a zoetrope 12" re-issue of the original single.

'In The Big Room' captures Peter Gabriel and band recorded live in the Big Room at Real World Studios on 23 November, 2003.

"I’d not really taken advantage of the big room as a performance space myself and when, in 2003, the opportunity came up, we grabbed it and offered the small number of seats to members of the Full Moon club. It was not part of a big tour so we weren’t as polished and rehearsed as we might have been while on tour, but it made for a more awake and edgy performance, as we were fully concentrating on what we were doing. There was no elaborate visual show, the whole focus was about making it sound good. I had pretty much forgotten how these songs sounded but listening back to these mixes I was pleasantly surprised how alive they were. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did." - Peter Gabriel

The 14-song set draws on material from both the Growing Up Live tour of 2002/2003 - Gabriel’s first in 10 years that accompanied the release of his album 'UP' - and the subsequent Still Growing Up Live tour that ran through much of 2004. Notable additions to the Growing Up Live set include 'Burn You Up', 'Burn You Down', 'Games Without Frontiers' and 'The Tower That Ate People'.

For the performance Peter is joined by his touring band from this period of Tony Levin (bass), David Rhodes (guitar), Ged Lynch (drums), Richard Evans (guitar, whistle, mandolin), Rachel Z (keyboard and backing vox) and Melanie Gabriel (backing vox).

TRACK LISTING

1. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
2. More Than This
3. Games Without Frontiers
4. Downside Up
5. Mercy Street
6. Darkness
7. Digging In The Dirt
8. The Tower That Ate People
9. San Jacinto
10. Shock The Monkey
11. Signal To Noise
12. Secret World
13. Father, Son
14. In Your Eyes

Hannah Peel’s third album, originally released in September 2017, is a seven-movement odyssey composed for analogue synthesizers and traditional 29-piece colliery brass band.

Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia explores one person's journey to outer space, by recounting the story of an unknown, elderly, pioneering, electronic musical stargazer and her lifelong dream to leave her terraced home in the mining town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, to see Cassiopeia for herself.

The brass band and rhythm section – ‘Tubular Brass’ - features the top UK championship brass band players who were recorded live on location in The Barnsley Civic Theatre with Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio team. These recordings were then expertly combined with Peel’s detailed, analogue synth layered production to create a wholly unique, collaborative sound; a first of its kind both live and on record.

The re-issue comes with updated artwork by original designer, Grammy award winning, Jonathan Barnbrook (David Bowie collaborator on albums ‘Blackstar’ and ‘The Next Day’) and remastered audio on Berry-coloured vinyl.

During her teenage years in Yorkshire, Peel played trombone in brass bands: marching at weekends and wearing ‘dickie bows’ at competitions and so naturally the ‘brass’ sound has become very much a part of her creative DNA. This love has recently come full circle once again, as Peel is the presenter of the series ‘Brass Banding with Hannah Peel’ for BBC Radio 3.

Mary Casio explores two very different worlds – the power of the brass band players combined with the sub-bass impact and air resonating force of the synths but Peel also creates a very human and intimate, at times fragile sounding record through her collection of ‘breathing’ vintage electronics, found sounds, the nuances of the individual brass instruments and the subtle ambience of her voice combining with the real and raw breathing, shuffling and ‘spit’ of the players themselves.

TRACK LISTING

1. Goodbye Earth
2. Sunrise Through The Dusty Nebula
3. Deep Space Cluster
4. Andromeda M31
5. Life Is On The Horizon
6. Archid Orange Dwarf
7. The Planet Of Passed Souls 

It all starts with the voice. At turns heavy and hulkingly powerful, yet agile and pointedly precise, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s vocal not only embodies the tradition of the Sufi qawwali but it is the emotive essence of singing itself.

Descended from a 600-year-old lineage of qawwali singers, Nusrat’s voice has been singularly responsible for spreading the devotional music of Sufism to the world, ever since he became the leader of his family’s musical group in 1971. It is a formidable heritage for an ancient song. Originating in 10th Century Iran, qawwali is the music of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. Characterised by states of musical ecstasy and sophistication, qawwali singers are the mouthpiece of divine power, tasked with capturing the audience’s attention and heightening their consciousness to receive a spiritual message.

‘Chain of Light’ is an album of previously unheard recordings of the singer and his qawwal party made at Real World Studios in 1990, whilst he was at the height of his vocal capabilities. Carefully restored from the original analogue tapes, this ‘lost album’ of traditional qawwals includes a pristine recording of the much-loved classic ‘Ya Allah Ya Rehman’, as well the only known performance of ‘Ya Gaus Ya Meeran’.

The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice is universally recognised as one of the greatest in musical history and he was key in bringing the Qawwali music tradition to the Western world. Khan’s legacy has enraptured millions across the globe with his magnificent and haunting voice. In his lifetime he collaborated with many Western musicians, including Peter Gabriel, Eddie Vedder and Michael Brook. His vocals appeared on soundtracks to films directed by Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Shekhar Kapur and Tim Robbins.

TRACK LISTING

Ya Allah Ya Rehman
Aaj Sik Mitran Di
Ya Gaus Ya Meeran
Khabram Raseed Imsha

Les Amazones d’Afrique is a creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women and girls; and a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. They were formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three renowned Malian music stars and social change activists, Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Mariam Doumbia, and the collective has since expanded to involve many female artists from across Africa and the diaspora.

While their cause — campaigning for gender equality and eradicating ancestral violence — is worthy enough in itself, their musical creative expression is equally powerful. Richly melodic and far-ranging, it blends pan-African styles and collaborative harmonies with gritty, contemporary pop. Following two successful albums produced by Congotronix innovator Doctor L, the band have worked with renowned pop producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Taylor Swift, Modest Mouse) to present a totally fresh new sound on their third album Musow Danse, which draws inspiration from hip-hop, trap, and electronic music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Musow Danse (Women’s Danse)
2. Mother Murakoze (feat. Alvie Bitemo)
3. Flaws (feat. Mamani Keïta)
4. Kiss Me (feat. Dobet Ghanoré)
5. Kuma Fo (What They Say)
6. Espérance (feat. Mamani Keïta)
7. To Be Loved (feat. Kandy Guira)
8. Queen Kuruma (feat. Fafa Ruffino)
9. Bobo Me (interlude) [feat. Nneka]
10. Amahoro (Don’t Be Angry) [feat. Alvie Bitemo]
11. My Place (feat. Dobet Ghanoré)
12. Bobo Me (feat. Nneka & Mamani Keïta)

More than 20 years in the making, this December finally sees the release of i/o, Peter Gabriel’s first album of new material since 2002’s Up.

During 2023, Peter has been releasing a new song from the album on the occasion of every full moon. Being revealed roughly every four weeks, each track has been allowed to find its own time and space, to enjoy its own orbit. “It’s a little like getting a Lego piece each month,” Peter explains. Now it’s time to stand back and admire the final, completed creation.

And what a creation – 12 tracks of grace, gravity and great beauty that provide welcome confirmation of not only Peter’s ongoing ability to write stop-you-in-your-tracks songs but also of that thrilling voice, still perfectly, delightfully intact. Throughout the album the intelligent and thoughtful – often thought-provoking – songs tackle life and the universe. Our connection to the world around us – ‘I’m just a part of everything’ Peter sings on title track i/o – is a recurring motif, but so too the passing of time, mortality and grief, alongside such themes as injustice, surveillance and the roots of terrorism. But this is not a solemn record. While reflective, the mood is never despondent; i/o is musically adventurous, often joyous and ultimately full of hope, topped off as it is, by the rousingly optimistic closing song, Live and Let Live.

Always looking to push the boundaries, i/o is not simply a collection of a dozen songs. All 12 tracks are subject to two stereo mixes: the Bright-Side Mix, handled by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, and the Dark-Side Mix, as reshaped by Tchad Blake. “We have two of the greatest mixers in the world in Tchad and Spike and they definitely bring different characters to the songs. Tchad is very much a sculptor building a journey with sound and drama, Spike loves sound and assembling these pictures, so he’s more of a painter.” Both versions are included on the double-CD package, and are also available separately as double vinyl albums. And that’s not all. A third version – the In-Side Mix, in Dolby Atmos, comes courtesy of Hans-Martin Buff “doing a wonderful job generating these much more three-dimensional mixes” and is included in three-disc set, including Blu-ray.

Peter has kept his trusty inner circle of musicians close to hand, which means guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katché are sterling presences throughout. Several songs bear the fingerprints of long-time associate Brian Eno, whilst there are notable contributions from the likes of Richard Russell, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeters Josh Shpak and Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and keyboard player Don E. Peter’s daughter Melanie contributes warm backing vocals, as does Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath. Soweto Gospel Choir and Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar lend their magnificent harmonies and the mass strings of the New Blood Orchestra, led by John Metcalfe, both soothe and soar.

Peter has also invited a range of visual artists to contribute a piece of art to accompany each track. The dozen artists make an exceedingly impressive team of collaborators: Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Olafur Eliasson, Henry Hudson, Annette Messager, Antony Micallef, David Moreno, Cornelia Parker, Megan Rooney, Tim Shaw, David Spriggs and Barthélémy Toguo. Having handpicked the artists, Peter recognises that “They have the same obsessive attention to their visual work that we musicians have in sound.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I don't get why everyone is going on about it, it's only been 30 years and the result more than makes up for the *slightly* longer gestation time of I/O. It's a wonderfully rich, beautifully refined work that sings with influence from all of Gabriel's work since he started recording it, and coming together beautifully despite it's disparate elements.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
CD1 – Bright-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

CD2 – Dark-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Blu-Ray – In-Side Mix (Dolby Atmos)
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Bright-Side Mix & Dark-Side Mix
Side A
1 Panopticom
2 Playing For Time
3 The Court
Side B
4 Four Kinds Of Horses
5 I/o
6 Love Can Heal
Side C
7 Road To Joy
8 So Much
9 Olive Tree
Side D
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Dub No Frontiers is inspired by and features female vocalists that Adrian Sherwood and the On-U Sound label knew from the UK or had met while travelling around the world. Many of the singers said they felt the dub and reggae arena was a bit of a male preserve and a little intimidating even, so Sherwood decided to invite artistes to perform a song of their choice, all in non-English on his rhythm tracks. Vocalists include Likkle Mai (singing in Japanese), Rita Morar (Hindi), Kerieva (Romani), Neyssatou (Arabic) & Yehaiyahan (Chinese).

The album is dedicated to the memory of both Ariane ‘Ari Up’ Forster and Lincoln Valentine ‘Style’ Scott with whom the project started.

Peter Harris’s cover painting of Afeni Shakur Davis sets the visual tone of the record and both the LP and CD come with a 12-page booklet featuring more of his paintings of inspiring women from the world of literature, politics, law, civil rights and medicine, such as Claudia Jones, Flo Kennedy, Barbara Jordan, Claudette Colvin and Mary Seacole.

TRACK LISTING

1. Yehaiyahan — Love Hurts [3:11]
2. Likkle Mai — Haste Makes Waste [4:12]
3. Rita Morar — Meri Awaaz Suno (Hear My Voice) [3:15]
4. In Temi Oyedele — I Dupe (Thanks Giving) [4:21]
5. Neyssatou — War [4:15]
6. Maria Wenda — Okama Werek Halok [3:42]
7. Kerieva — Chavale [3:52]
8. JaGodDa — Krysztalowy Aniol (Crystal Angel) [3:57]
9. Saba Tewelde — Semarulay Daqey [2:36]
10. Nadya Ostroff DR.NO — Little Cosmonaut [4:31]

There are pieces of music that seek to tell us deeper stories. Others harness the talents of the players at their disposal in adventurous ways. Then there are the rare, generous works that make us think back to our roots as human beings and to our shared beginnings in the universe, that lift us in their melodies, rhythms and textures, that carry us with them.

The Unfolding is all of these things. An extraordinary eight-part collaboration between composer Hannah Peel (Mercury Prize and Emmy nominee) and Paraorchestra, it was made over three years in precious morsels of time around a global pandemic. These circumstances – unexpected when the collaboration began – add weight to its explorations in sound about who we are, where we came from, and who we could all be. The Unfolding also explores Paraorchestra’s progressive idea of what an orchestra should be, mixing analogue, digital and assistive instruments with a unique ensemble of disabled and non-disabled musicians to make magic happen, and accessible to all.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Surpassing the meditative shimmer and oscillating beauty of last years' 'Fir Wave' was never going to be easy, but this is the most strikingly beautiful piece of work I think she's ever done. Choral and otherworldly, but imbued with a levity and optimistic glimmer that Peel does so well. Mindblowing.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1. The Universe Before Matter [10:58]
A2. Wild Animal [3:55]
Side B
B1. Passage [5:22]
B2. The Unfolding [5:47]
Side C
C1. If After Weeks Of Early Sun [4:16]
C2. Perhaps It Made Us Happy For A Minute [4:17]
C3. We Are Part Mineral [6:06]
Side D
D1. Part Cloud [10:31]
D2. The Unfolding Credits Instrumental Version [02:19] *vinyl Exclusive Not On CD*
D3. The Unfolding Credits [02:19]

Loney dear is the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanängen’s idiosyncratic musical project where classic song-writing meets complex productions – both wide open and uplifting as well as sensitive and heart breaking…

Recorded by Svanángen with producer Emanuel Lundgren in a mythical studio on western Södermalm in Stockholm, ‘A Lantern and A Bell’ is Loney dear’s second album for Real World, following 2017’s self-titled release.

Maritime themes permeate across ‘A Lantern and A Bell’ - the album arrives bearing artwork depicting the international nautical flag for distress and Emil’s voice is frequently bolstered by diffused water sounds at dark low frequencies and the calls of sea birds. For those who know their Loney dear, the constant references to sea and ships are hardly something new. All that is an important part of my inner life, maybe a romantic dream of adventure, but also a phobia, a danger I cannot help but be drawn to, says Emil; Near where I live, freighters pass by every day and the sounds of their engines get into my head. And further into the music.

Speaking about Emil’s new record - on which he has consulted as a sounding board, label founder Peter Gabriel says; Sad soulful melodies that create space in your head that fill with memories dreams and tenderness. I am very proud that we are working with such a gifted songwriter. When you’re isolating, what better than to be wrapped up in these beautiful imaginative constructions - the work of a master. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Mute / All Things Pass
2. Habibi (A Clear Black Line)
3. Trifles
4. Go Easy On Me Now (Sirens + Emergencies)
5. Last Night / Centurial Procedures (the 1900s)
6. Oppenheimer
7. Darling
8. Interval / Repeat
9. A House And A Fire

Bokanté - founded by Michael League (Snarky Puppy) - is a truly global band, with players from five countries and four continents. Metropol Orkest is part jazz big band, part symphony orchestra, helmed by English conductor Jules Buckley. The message is laced throughout new album ‘What Heat’… and it is urgent. Injustice is raging all around.

For fans of Snarky Puppy, Oumou Sangaré, Buena Vista Social Club, Les Amazones d’Afrique, Anjelique Kidjo, Ghost-Note, Bill Laurence, Afro jazz.

TRACK LISTING

All The Way Home
Fanm
Lè An Gadé-w En Zyé
Réparasyons
Bòd Lanmè Pa Lwen
Don’t Do It
Chambre à Échos
La Maison En Feu

Portico Quartet still sound like nothing you ever heard before. The Mercury nominated East London based outfit’s unique music has expanded to embrace new sonic territories. Drawing on the inspiration of electronica, ambient, classical and dance music as they take their strange, beautiful, cinematic, future music to exciting new vistas where the inspiration of Burial, Mount Kimbie and Flying Lotus rubs shoulders with the textures of Arve Henriksen and Bon Iver and echoes of Steve Reich and Max Richter. But all underpinned by a shared joy in collective music making as the band push their inimitable music into the future.

Produced by the band themselves and brilliantly engineered by Greg Freeman at the Fish Market studios and Real World, Portico Quartet’s eponymous third album is the sound of a band that refuses to stand still. But there are no shortcuts here, the music is played live, not pre-recorded, and the hard won collective empathy that is at the heart of their sound remains their primary touchstone. Full of mystery and drama Portico Quartet still take the listener on an unparalleled journey but where their previous album Isla was the sound of a band looking inwards, Portico Quartet find the band looking defiantly into the future.