Peter Gabriel's new single, the Snowden soundtrack cut "The Veil," has premiered via BBC broadcast in advance of its Sept. 9 arrival in stores.

"The Veil," which can be streamed courtesy of the BBC here, serves as Gabriel's second single release of the summer — and the second to draw inspiration from a public figure. In June, Gabriel put out "I'm Amazing," written and recorded as a tribute to Muhammad Ali. With "The Veil," he's helping draw attention to the story of Edward Snowden, the former CIA operative who leaked NSA files in 2013.

"As we become so visible in the digital world and leave an endless trail of data behind us, exactly who has our data and what they do with it becomes increasingly important," Gabriel said of his inspiration for the song. "Snowden’s revelations shocked the world and made it very clear why we need to have some way to look over those who look over us. With increasing terrorist attacks, security is critical, but not without any accountability or oversight."

"The Veil" serves as the first release from the soundtrack to Snowden, the Oliver Stone-directed dramatization of the events surrounding the leaks. The film, which arrives in theaters on Sept. 16, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden.

For Gabriel, it wasn't just Snowden's themes that attracted him to the project — it was also the opportunity to work with Stone. "I was very happy to learn Oliver Stone had decided to make a film about Edward Snowden and believe this is a powerful and inspiring film," he added. "Oliver takes his music very seriously and I have always enjoyed collaborating with him and [music supervisor] Budd Carr.”

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