Coldplay not sticking to formulas
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 March 2009 0113 hrs

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SINGAPORE : They are one of the hottest bands right now and wowed a full-house this week at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Having sold over 50,000 records world-wide - not to mention picking up a couple of Grammys along the way - Coldplay is on top of the world.

However, the UK band is not settling on any formula for success, but constantly evolving its sound.

The band took a very different direction for its fourth album - Viva La Vida - and many said it is the most experimental offering from Coldplay. Though it was not well received by some critics, it is one of the top selling albums of last year.

Chris Martin, Coldplay's vocalist, said: "People have a lot of choice of entertainment and when you have made three records, you need to give everyone a very good reason to buy a fourth record because they've already heard the sound of the group three times.

"So I think when we came to our 4th piece of music, we better start to go in different directions a bit."

One such "different direction", if you listen closely, is a song that even sounds a little like a ringtone.

Martin said: "It was a little flippant but there's some truth in that because we were speaking to our friend yesterday and she said that ringtones are more popular in some places in the world than songs.

"So when we had the song "Life In Technicolor" we kept it because the melody was like a ringtone... so I was being a bit flippant but with a pinch of truth."

The band is already working on material for their new album with acclaimed producer Brian Eno, who also had a hand in the band's new direction.

"Brian, I would say, is a genius. So it's a great experience to be in his presence because not only musically but he knows a lot about art, science, politics... and women," said Coldplay's guitarist Jonny Buckland.

"He brings a lot more colours and excitement to things. And he wrote us a letter the other day, saying that we could improve still. Hopefully, he'll help us to do that," added Martin.

Moving away from music, when it comes to critics who judge the band's political activism as nothing but a public relations spin, Martin has some strong words.

"Well these people are idiots! People who say that do not have any idea about life or the world because we would be talking about politics even if we were working in a bakery, or even on a farm," said Martin.

But even if you work at a bakery or a farm, there's no escaping the popularity of Coldplay's music. - CNA /ls