Coldplay’s Chris Martin has spoken to NME in his only written interview for upcoming album ‘Moon Music’, and revealed that the band are coming to the end of their time writing new material.
Set to arrive this Friday (October 4), ‘Moon Music’ marks the 10th album from Coldplay and the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’. Now, in an exclusive interview with NME, the frontman opened up about how the end of the band is fast approaching, and explained what fans can expect next.
“Right now, and since about 2008, if something lands in me as a song or as a good idea and it feels authentic, we’ll do it. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks,” he said, explaining where the band are at now. He also described the upcoming record as being “the story of waking up in the morning and feeling terrible about yourself,” before “a journey to feeling the complete opposite at the end of the day.”
Speaking to NME back in 2021, Martin revealed that Coldplay were looking to release their final album in 2025. He would later elaborate on his comments, and reveal his plan for the band’s catalogue to end after 12 albums.
Opening up to NME about whether the plan is still on the cards, the frontman confirmed that the members still want to end at 12 records, although the 2025 deadline is going to be extended.
“It is 12 albums for sure, but we’re going to be a bit later than that,” he explained, going on to discuss what might come after ‘Moon Music’. “There’s one more thing, which is a musical. [That’s] album number 11, but that might have to come out after album 12 because of how long musicals take to animate.
“Our last single is on this album, and that’s called ‘All My Love’. That’s the last ‘single’ single. We have the musical thing, then an album just called ‘Coldplay’, which is the final one. I think that will be a year late – I know it will be.”
He continued: “The 12 album thing is very real, and it’s a nice feeling. It doesn’t mean we won’t tour or finish some compilation things or outtakes or whatever. It just means that the main story is told. That’s just what feels really right. Just knowing that’s happening supercharges all the work we’re doing now.”
Elsewhere in the NME exclusive, Martin went on to say that the deadline has led to the members having “more hunger” in their approach, and determined to make sure they don’t “dilute” anything they put forward. He also reassured fans that by the time the 12th album is complete, “everything will make sense” in terms of Coldplay’s story.
As for how the band intend to move forward after their 12th and final album, the ‘Clocks’ singer said that the band won’t be coming to an end, but instead focusing on aspects outside of songwriting.
“Touring, curating. What Liam [Gallagher] has just done with ‘Definitely Maybe’ has reignited that album. We will get to a point where it will be fun to not re-release but remember the earlier stuff and enjoy it again and do things specific to those periods,” he said.
“I have an idea for another type of show that’s more of a hotch-potch of everything. Maybe it’s not always about trying to be in stadiums, but you can do small things where you try and play the odd songs. I think it would also be nice to help younger artists a bit.”
Check out NME’s exclusive interview with Chris Martin in full here, where he also opens up about his love of Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Chappell Roan and more, Coldplay’s mammoth set at Glastonbury 2024, and the band’s determination to help support grassroots venues across the UK.
You can also listen to Chris Martin’s exclusive playlist to accompany his NME interview below on Spotify and here on Apple Music.
‘Moon Music’ was given a glowing four-star review by NME, and described by Rhian Daly as a record that looks to “pull Martin and those feeling like him back from the brink, one pop song at a time”.
“It’s not just in Coldplay’s lyrics that this resilience can be felt, but in their musical choices too. Multiple songs on ‘Moon Music’ – like ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Good Feelings’ – fade out, only to return to the speakers again,” it read. “These fake-outs don’t just keep you guessing but mirror that feeling of having exhausted all your options, only for you to find the strength to push forward.”
