In a new Rolling Stone cover story, the singer revealed his vision for the band’s latest album and talked about what comes after the end.
In 1998, the Coldplay took its first step towards success with Safetyher debut EP. The release contained just three songs, including “No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground”which later appeared as the B-side of “Yellow” two years later. It was at this time that the band really felt the impact of their journey, with songs that seemed to come from an enigmatic source to be shaped into hits. It was also at that moment that Chris Martin I knew what awaited the band in the future.
Martin detailed the plan in the cover story of Rolling Stone American, published today. At some point in the not too distant (but also not clearly defined) future, they will release their latest album, titled Coldplay. It will be the band’s 12th album and it won’t be much different from Safety. “The album cover, I’ve known it since 1999”Martin told Rolling Stone. “It’s a photograph by the same photographer who did the cover for our first EP.”
The cover of Safety it’s a black and white image of Martin, blurred into a moment of captured motion. The photo was taken by John Hiltonguitarist’s school friend Jonny Buckland. Coldplay only released 500 copies of the EP, which became one of the first physical artifacts of the band’s career. Martin described the latest album as something that symbolizes a return to basics in terms of sound and visuals. He doesn’t feel overly sentimental about it, as he’s known for a long time that the beginning of the end for Coldplay as a recording band would be the animated musical he’s writing with his best friend and creative director. Phil Harvey. After that, Coldplay would stop recording – but not completely.
There will be no more blurry albums or covers to choose from. However, there will still be live shows – and maybe some songs, if it depends on the bassist Guy Berryman. “Chris will never stop writing, so I take this with a grain of salt.”Berryman said. “We are years away from any kind of retirement. But I think you need a plan. If you’re running a marathon, you know you need to run 26 miles. But if someone said, ‘Okay, start running and don’t stop,’ it’s very difficult to motivate yourself.”
Martin added: “One day we will do something called Alphabeticawhich will be a collection of leftovers and songs that didn’t fit anywhere. Let’s release them in a compilation. We’ll do one song that starts with A, one with B, because we have enough material for that – but we don’t have any songs with Q. That’s what stops me.”
In 2010, Hilton reflected on the cover shoot, recalling: “There were blurry and sharp photos, but this one looked strangely interesting. I suppose at the time I justified it as an attempt to capture him moving around on stage and being all intense. And it also suited that dark, Radiohead-esque style that everyone loved at the time.”
The photographer noted that the title Safety it came from the word written on the camera film, hidden until it was revealed in the printed image. “They were happy to leave her there. So the name came from the photo”, he explained. “It’s not a brilliant photograph, but the reason I like it is that it’s a photo taken by a kid in college of other kids in college, who then became a really big band. So, in that sense, I’m very happy about that.”
This article is a translation. Read the original version at Rolling Stone US.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
