Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Coldplay look to christmas release for new album

Quote:
Coldplay are aiming to have their new album in stores by Christmas, and once again, they've tapped Brian Eno to help them make that goal a reality.

That's according to Eno himself, who told BBC Radio's 6 Music that he's joined forces with the band again (he produced 2008's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends) for an album that should be available just in time for the holidays.

"I think it could be. It's quite different from anything they've done before ... so far, anyway," Eno said. "I don't know how it will end up being, but it's very fresh."

As was the case with the Viva la Vida sessions (which saw the band travel throughout much of Central and South America and record in a series of Barcelona churches) and the subsequent studio time that birthed the quickie Prospekt's March EP, Eno is shaking things up once again. This time he's forcing Martin to work separately from his Coldplay mates and pairing up the band members at random.

"I think that if you have a group of four people, that's lots of possible combinations," he explained. "You can have any one of them on their own, and you can have lots of couples within that four. ... I think every one of those is a unique musical entity that will produce something unique. It's not rocket science, and it's not Svengali-ism either. It's not some attempt to subvert the band, but just to see what other possibilities are lurking within them that might not come out within their normal working situations."

Coldplay are currently on tour in South America, but they've already begun work on the new album, in a brand-new London studio (which is reportedly a converted church). They've been chronicling the experience in a series of blog posts written by the mysterious "Roadie #42," and it sounds very much like the sessions are going quite well. Demos are being mixed, and there's even a tentative track listing for the new album.

"Work begins brisk and early each day with minds focused intently on the job in hand," one blog entry reads. "If a song is deemed not to be working, the root of the pain is sought out and generally identified very quickly. New approaches, slight massages or even radical amputations are approached with urgency. Co-producers Rik Simpson and Dan Green have put together a bunch of rough mixes and sequenced them together according to the 'possible running order' that Chris recently wrote up. ... There is now a file all locked up in the depths of the building that they can huddle round and listen to from start to finish. They can judge their progress now — and then again when they get home."

A spokesperson for Coldplay could not be reached for comment by press time.