Anyone hoping that Coldplay’s upcoming 10th album, Moon Music, would bring about a return to the band’s indie-rock roots is likely to be disappointed, as it’s been confirmed that it’s being produced by pop supremo Max Martin.
This isn’t the first time that Martin has worked with Coldplay: he has a production credit on every track on Music Of The Spheres, the band’s 2021 long-player. Whether Moon Music, which will be released on 4 October, will continue in a similar musical vein to its predecessor remains to be seen.
The album will be preceded by a new single, feelslikeimfallinginlove, which will be released on 21 June. Coldplay performed this for the first time last night (16 June) during a gig at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna.
In keeping with the sustainability ethos that they’ve adhered to on their current tour, Coldplay say that they want the release of Moon Music to be as eco-friendly as possible. So, each vinyl copy – a 140g EcoRecord LP – will be made out of nine recycled PET-plastic bottles that have been recovered from post-consumer waste.
This method is said to provide an 85% reduction in manufacturing process CO2 emissions/kg compared to traditional 140g vinyl, and prevent the manufacture of more than 25 metric tonnes of virgin plastic.
The move follows Billie Eilish’s decision to make the standard black version of her latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, from 100% recycled black vinyl. The remaining seven vinyl editions are manufactured using Eco-Mix or BioVinyl.
Coldplay have also announced that Moon Music will be the first album to ship on EcoCD, a disc created from 90% recycled polycarbonate, sourced from post-consumer waste streams. You can expect this move to lead to a 78% CO2/kg emission reduction, and avoid the manufacture of more than five metric tonnes of virgin plastic.
As well as the standard versions of Moon Music, there will also be Notebook Edition EcoCD and EcoRecord LP releases. Each of these will come in a casebound hardback book that replicates Chris Martin’s original studio notebook and features 28 pages of unseen notes, lyrics and illustrations from the album’s writing and recording process. The Notebook Editions will also include additional voice notes and demos from the album’s recording sessions, giving fans a further insight into the music’s development.
The First Edition run of Moon Music (both EcoRecord LP and EcoCD) will be strictly limited and produced at a higher specification than any future editions. All First Edition EcoRecord LP products will be individually numbered.
Pre-orders of Moon Music – including a limited number of hand-signed versions – are available now via the Coldplay website.