Coldplay’s Chris Martin shared his admiration for Fontaines DC and recalled how the band reminded him that “you can never phone it in.”
The subject came up when the vocalist recently spoke to NME in his only written interview for new album ‘Moon Music’, and revealed the number of new artists who have caught his attention.
Arriving last Friday (October 4), ‘Moon Music’ is Coldplay’s 10th album and the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’. Now on NME exclusive, Martin spoke about how the members felt inspired by Fontaines DC and Little Simz.
“When Fontaines or Little Simz show up, you just remember that you can never call,” he explained. “Even if you are doing something that you think no one will like, you need to make sure that you like it and that you have poured every last drop of energy into it.”
“You know when [Fontaines] I did ‘Starburster,’ nobody was caring about that. When I hear that song or IDLES, I’m like, ‘Shit!’” he continued. “We’re not just talking about bands; we’re talking Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé – anyone you feel like you’re working so hard for.”
His high praise for the Dublin band comes from the likes of Grian Chatten and co. recently shared hit album ‘Romance’; a record NME described as being the “most considered and elaborate work to date”. Likewise, his praise for IDLES comes shortly after frontman Joe Talbot asked if they could take Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ video and transform it with AI so it looked like Martin was singing ‘Grace’ for a music video.
As for Little Simz’s celebration, Martin’s comments come as the Mercury-winning British rap icon recently joined forces with the band for ‘Moon Music’ track ‘We Pray’, alongside Nigerian juggernaut Burna Boy , by Palestinian-Chilean musician Elyanna and Argentine singer Tini.
Explaining why the band looked beyond “middle-aged white guys” for their album collaborations, the frontman said: “We don’t need any more of them, actually. It’s fun to expand the band to other cultures, countries, genders and sexualities. That’s what we believe.
“It’s amazing how much talent there is everywhere. It’s also humbling because you realize we benefit from being born English and being able to play anywhere. This results from an extraordinarily terrible colonialism.”
Also starring on the album is Afrobeats don Ayra Starr, who Martin described in NME interview as being “brilliant”.
Check it out NMEChris Martin’s exclusive interview with Chris Martin in full here, where he also talks about the band’s plans to stop writing new material after album 12, their gigantic set at Glastonbury 2024, the invitation for Liam Gallagher to share some lasagna and their determination to help support grassroots locations across the UK.
You can also listen to Chris Martin’s exclusive playlist to accompany your NME interview above on Spotify and here on Apple Music.
In the latter he once again shares his fondness for Fontaines’ ‘Starburster’. “I heard it and was incredibly jealous, which is my highest compliment… I thought ‘Skinty Fia’ was a masterpiece and was looking forward to hearing ‘Romance’ and ‘Starburster,’” he recalled.
“It shows how you become a brilliant band over a long period of time. It’s brave, it’s forward thinking, it’s got soul, the lyrics are amazing, the melodies are amazing, the production is amazing, it keeps all the other bands on their toes. You can play it last in a set when no one knows and it will hold up. It’s perfect.”
‘Moon Music’ received a glowing four-star review for NMEand described by Rhian Daly as a record that seeks to “pull Martin and those who feel like him back from the abyss, one pop song at a time”.
“It’s not just in Coldplay’s lyrics that this resilience can be felt, but also in their musical choices. Several songs from ‘Moon Music’ – like ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Good Feelings’ – fade out, only to return to the speakers again,” it read. “These fakes not only keep you guessing, but they also reflect the feeling of having exhausted all your options, only for you to find the strength to move forward.”
Since its release on Friday, the iconic band has played some of the tracks from Saturday night liveas well as making a surprise appearance on the American branch of QVC.
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