Peter Gabriel goes ape for research project

(Launch) - The mystery of why Peter Gabriel has taken so long to release a new album might be solved - he's gone ape. As part of a research project, Gabriel has been spending time at Georgia State University in Atlanta playing keyboards with 12 bonobo apes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, all of which also have keyboards. The sessions are meant to shed light into how the apes communicate, both with each other and with humans. Gabriel told the Financial Times that the apes seem to appreciate melody and rhythm, understand about 4,000 words and recognize 400 pictograms. Gabriel has also proposed an online service called Apenet, which would allow these and other simians to stay in touch from different zoos and research facilities via Webcam. It is possible that Gabriel will release "Up," his first album since 1992's "Us," later this year, but no firm timetable has been set.