Up

Production notes

Up was Peter Gabriel's sixth solo studio album, released in September 2002 after a notoriously prolonged production process spanning approximately ten years, making it one of the longest-gestating albums in rock history. The album was primarily recorded at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England, with Gabriel himself serving as producer alongside contributions from engineers and collaborators including Tchad Blake, who mixed several tracks, and Richard Chappell as chief engineer. The extended recording sessions saw Gabriel painstakingly layering and reworking tracks, incorporating dense arrangements that blended electronic programming, orchestral elements, and atmospheric textures with organic instrumentation. Notable musicians contributing to the album included guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin, drummer Manu Katché, and the Blind Boys of Alabama on the track "Sky Blue." The album's dark, introspective tone and complex sonic landscapes reflected both Gabriel's perfectionist approach to production and a difficult personal period, and it was his first studio album of original material since Us in 1992.