Peter Gabriel On World Cafe

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Peter Gabriel. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Peter Gabriel.

Courtesy of the artist

Peter Gabriel's 12th studio album, New Blood, contains re-imaginings of some of his best-known songs — including "Solsbury Hill," "Red Rain" and "Don't Give Up" — using orchestral arrangements and ambient sound. The album continues a career reinvention he began on Scratch My Back, a covers album with the attached expectation that the covered artists would reciprocate.

New Blood is a well-deserved victory lap for Gabriel, whose 25-year-old solo career has gained him innumerable accolades as both a pop star and innovator at the vanguard of electronic and world music. His shadow looms large over the pop music of today, too; artists such as Neon Indian and Vampire Weekend have made their admiration of Gabriel's work central to their own music.

Here, Gabriel talks to host David Dye on World Cafe amid excerpts from New Blood.