Music of the Spheres by Coldplay
Music of the Spheres is the ninth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 15 October 2021 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States. The album was produced by Max Martin, who is a new producer to the band's discography. It features guest appearances from Selena Gomez, We Are King, Jacob Collier and BTS. It also features contributions from electronic producer Jon Hopkins. An space-themed concept album, Music of the Spheres is set in a fictional planetary system called The Spheres, which contains nine planets, three natural satellites, a star and a nebula, each of which corresponds to a certain song. According to lead singer Chris Martin, its concept and themes were inspired by the Star Wars film franchise, which made him wonder what other artists could be like across the universe. The album received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised its pop composition, but criticized its concept and superficial feeling. Background The idea for a space-themed record had been envisioned by the band since 2010, when lead vocalist Chris Martin proposed a project of building "a solar system", as stated in a blog published by the band, named "Roadie #42". At the time Everyday Life was released, in November 2019, one of the hints was hidden within the bifold of the booklet of the physical vinyl and digibook editions of the album, in which a black and white billboard in a field advertises "Music of the Spheres". In the bottom left corner, smaller writing says "Coldplay coming soon". This, combined with the band's history of teasers for future material, fueled speculation about Music of the Sphere's themes and release date. Other hints to future material were purportedly hidden within song lyrics and music videos from the Everyday Life era. Style and concept Lead singer Chris Martin stated that the theme for the album was inspired by "wonder what musicians would be like across the universe" after watching the fictional Mos Eisley cantina band perform in Star Wars and making speculations in relation to outer space sounds. The album is set in a fictional planetary system called The Spheres, which consists of nine planets, three natural satellites, one star and a nearby nebula. Each track on the album represents a celestial body from The Spheres. Following the album's track listing, they are: Neon Moon I ("Music of the Spheres"), Kaotica ("Higher Power"), Echo ("Humankind"), Kubik ("Alien Choir"), Calypso ("Let Somebody Go"), Supersolis ("Human Heart"), Ultra ("People of the Pride"), Floris ("Biutyful"), Neon Moon II ("Music of the Spheres II"), Epiphane ("My Universe"), Infinity Station ("Infinity Sign"), and Coloratura ("Coloratura"). Supersolis is the star at the centre of the system, and Coloratura is the Nebula. Each celestial body in The Spheres has its own language: EL 1 for Neon Moon I, Kaotican for Kaotica, Mirror Text for Echo, Qblok for Kubik, Aquamarine for Calypso, Supersolar for Supersolis, Voltik for Ultra, Bloom for Floris, EL 2 for Neon Moon II, Spheric for Epiphane, Infinitum for Infinity Station, and Coloraturan for Coloratura. An unnamed natural satellite orbits Echo, while both Neon Moons orbit Epiphane. A lost planet called Aurora is also part of the system, although it remains unknown whether a hidden song will represent it. Martin uses the planets as a canvas to explore the human experience: "It's really another record about life as a human person, but given this freedom that comes when you pretend it's about other creatures in other places."
Coldplay’s third album was made during the toughest time of the band’s career. 2002’s <i>A Rush of Blood to the Head</i> had made them one of the world’s biggest groups, but now things began to unravel. Lead singer Chris Martin, newly married to actress and Hollywood A-Lister Gwyneth Paltrow, grappled with a level of fame that would have been unthinkable just a few years before; the band were uncertain about which musical direction to take next; relationships within the band had become strained; and they were under pressure from their label to get a record finished sooner rather than later. It didn’t help that they were a man down—the band’s non-playing “fifth member” and manager, Phil Harvey, a crucial part of their creative process, had departed after the completion of <i>A Rush of Blood</i>. It all helped to make <i>X&Y</i>’s writing and recording a testing period for the quartet, but somehow they emerged with a record that both refined what went before and put a resolve in Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion to stay together. Working in a sporadic fashion over 18 months, a spell spread across six studios in the US and the UK, the group wrote over 60 songs—but often found themselves coming to a creative dead end. Crucially, they had one killer song and around it a record began to take shape. “Fix You”, written for Paltrow after the death of her father, was one of Coldplay’s most affecting and bombastic sing-alongs yet, growing from an organ-led hymnal into a bells-and-whistles midtempo anthem. It would carry <i>X&Y</i> on its back. At the same time, realising that they needed to be working more as a band rather than individually on their parts in the studio, new sonic routes started to emerge. Opener “Square One”, with its wiry guitars and rhythmic urgency, was an explosive banger that sounded like U2 reimagining Interpol; “What If” paired sumptuous strings with a sinuous bass groove and layered guitars; and “Low” draped a propulsive indie rock tune in glacial synths and atmospheric soundscapes—the addition of electronic textures across the record evidence of a band keen to try new things. Speaking about <i>X&Y</i> in 2015, Martin quipped, “I’d like to take 10 minutes off it and tidy up the haircuts.” It was a period that put a full stop on the first phase of Coldplay. They would be a different band on their next album, even more ambitious and daring. <i>X&Y</i> went on to sell over 13 million copies, another massively successful hit for the biggest British group of the 21st century. But what it taught them was even more valuable. From here, everything changed.
