Moon Music is the tenth studio album by British rock band Coldplay. It is the follow-up to their 2021 album, Music of the Spheres, and was released on 4 October 2024 through Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States.
The lead single "feelslikeimfallinginlove" was released on 21 June 2024.
Background and recording[]
Five months after releasing their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres, on 15 October 2021, Coldplay embarked on the Music of the Spheres World Tour throughout 2022. Once half of the South American leg had finished in early November, the band posted a note on their social media on 5 December mentioning they were back in the studio.[1] On 15 December, American musician and record producer Nile Rodgers revealed that he has been in the studio with Coldplay working on new music, adding that he “had a blast” with the band and describing it as a “spiritual” experience.[2][3]
Coldplay first revealed the new album's title in late January 2023 during an interview with Canadian television newscast CityNews and added they were almost finishing it. At the time, Chris Martin dubbed it as the “second Music of the Spheres volume” and mentioned it would not “come out for a little bit”, though suggested they might start playing some of the new songs at the upcoming Music of the Spheres World Tour concerts.[4][5]
While hosting a Twitter Q&A on March 13th and 14th, Guy Berryman, Will Champion, and Jonny Buckland gave insight regarding the status of the new album. Guy stated it was still under development and was not sure about a release date;[6] Will mentioned they were excited about the new songs that will feature on it,[7] whilst Jonny revealed they were “at the beginning of the end of recording it.”[8] "Aeterna", a new song performed on 11 March and incorporated into the concert's segment The Lightclub, was revealed by Will as an excerpt,[9] with Jonny describing it as one of his favourites of the new batch of songs.[10]
On 18 March, Coldplay performed a new song in São Paulo, "One World", the aim of which was to bring together one million voices on the same song in different cities on subsequent tour dates, with São Paulo being the first city they would record at together with the audience. The attendees were instructed to either sing the word “one” or hum in a C note in unison once a signal was given by Chris; on 28 March, the band played the song and recorded the audience once again at the end of their final concert in Rio de Janeiro, however, they stopped performing it on tour thereafter.
In early June, Guy and Jonny stated in a Los 40 interview that they were trying to record the album “on tour and in between touring legs”. They explained that most songs were “nearly finished, but as a whole, [they were] still sort of waiting to put it all together” and expecting an early 2024 release.[11] In July, during an interview with Virgin Radio Italy, Chris revealed that Moon Music is related to the previous album Music of the Spheres although it could no longer be defined as a sequel, as initially planned, having become “its own thing now.”[12]
On 19 September, Chris and Phil Harvey surprise-visited a fan meeting event held by ColdplayXtra at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. During the meetup, Chris revealed that Moon Music would be released in May 2024, in addition to providing details about a few new songs on the record; "Jupiter" would see the band “going super gay” and feature contributions by Jacob Collier, "Aeterna" would not be included on the album and is supposed to become a B-Side instead, and "Angel's Song" would be entirely lead sung by Will.[13] In late October, Nile Rodgers commented during one of his band Chic's concerts that he had worked on about six tracks on Moon Music.[14]
On 2 November, Coldplay posted on their socials a handwritten letter stating that the record was “nearly finished” and inviting fans from around the world to add their voice to one of its forthcoming tracks, "One World".[15][16] The band set up a website that allowed fans to record themselves singing “Ahhhhh” in a C or G note in any octave for a few seconds and submit it to the platform from November 2nd to 13th. According to a statement issued by Atlantic Records, more than 120,000 people from 204 countries, states, and territories have uploaded their voices to the song during the first eight days.[17]
On 12 December, Nile Rodgers posted a photo of himself and Chris working at The Beehive, one of Coldplay's private studios, on his TikTok account. Behind them, a whiteboard partially presented some potential tracks for the album, including "Moon Music", "Man in the Moon", "Jupiter", and "Good Feelings".[18] Three days later, Rodgers shared a brief silent TikTok video in which he played in a studio alongside Max Martin, the band's main current producer.[19] Guy Berryman reinforced to a fan on 16 December that the band were almost done with the recording sessions for Moon Music, and conjectured a release date around September 2024.[20]
Release and promotion[]
Coldplay's updated profile picture.
On 26 April 2024, British national radio station BBC Radio 1 announced an eight-episode podcast titled Music Uncovered: The Genius of Coldplay, hosted by English broadcaster Greg James, with the first four 15-minute episodes being released on May 17th and the remaining four on May 24th. The series retraced and analysed Coldplay's ascension and career with the help of fans, fellow musicians and producers, and important people involved in their journey.[21]
On 21 May, Coldplay launched their official Instagram broadcast channel to send news and updates to fans. Upon the launch, the band teased the trailer for a short film titled Tutto Passa - A Tribute to Napoli by Coldplay. The film, directed by Colombian-American director Stillz, was filmed during their two-night concerts in Naples, Italy, in June 2023. The full short film was first made available on the Broadcast channel at 8 p.m. UK / 3 p.m. ET on the same day.
The moon replaced the globe of Parachutes on streaming services during the early stages of Moon Music's promotion.
On 23 May, moons were incorporated into the Spotify Canvas videos of Coldplay's biggest singles. Later, they updated their profile pictures to a rainbow-coloured moon phase against a light blue background art across all social media platforms.[22][23] Additionally, since March 2024, Coldplay had occasionally included moon and musical note emojis in new social media posts, and featured new visual elements on their equipment and instruments during their Big Weekend headline performance in Luton on 26 May as well.[24] On 29 May, the globe featured on the cover art of their debut studio album Parachutes (2000) was replaced with a moon on all streaming services.[25]
On 4 June, Coldplay teased an excerpt of lyrics for a new song on Twitter, accompanied by a tulip emoji.[26] On 7 June, the band shared a video teaser of a new single through their social media profiles, featuring a 20-second snippet of a new song with a caption reading, “first time”, alongside a moon emoji and #flifil. The video was shot in time-lapse at the Santa Monica Pier, California, showcasing Chris Martin singing to the snippet in front of the Pacific Park amusement park's Ferris wheel.[27]
On the same day, Phil Harvey surprise-visited another fan meeting event held by ColdplayXtra at the Hard Rock Cafe in Athens, Greece, — city where the band would perform the following day — and provided additional details about Moon Music, stating that the album “covers the full spectrum of what they can do as a band and who they are as a band” and acknowledging it would “take a little longer with vinyls and all that”, but assuring fans an announcement was expected soon. At the time, fans also had the opportunity to listen to the new song beforehand through private headphones provided by the band's staff.[28]
While in Athens, Coldplay invited local fans to participate in the shooting of a music video at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on 10 June, following reports from Greek media outlets that the band would film at the venue on that date.[29][30] "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" was unveiled as the album's lead single on 13 June, with a release date scheduled for 21 June.[31]
On 17 June, Moon Music was officially announced via Coldplay's social media, revealing its cover art, related merch, and release date for 4 October 2024.[32]
Artwork and packaging[]
The cover art of Moon Music features the picture of a moonbow — also known as a lunar rainbow —, a rare optical phenomenon in which a rainbow is produced by moonlight instead of direct sunlight and caused by the refraction of light through water droplets in the air.[33] The photograph was taken in 2020 by Argentinian photographer Matias Alonso Revelli using a Nikon D3100 when he witnessed the phenomenon in his house's backyard. Coldplay's representatives contacted him via email to ask permission to use the photo; even though Revelli offered numerous other variations of the same shot, the band ultimately maintained their initial choice.[34] The album's art design and packaging were headed by Argentinian multimedia artist Pilar Zeta, Coldplay's art director since A Head Full of Dreams (2015).
The CD editions of Moon Music will be the first to be released on EcoCD, created from 90% recycled polycarbonate and sourced from post-consumer waste streams.
Track listing[]
Standard edition[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Moon Music" | 4:36 | ||
| 2. | "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" | Coldplay • Apple Martin • Jon Hopkins • Max Martin • Tim Rutili | M. Martin • Oscar Holter • Bill Rahko • Daniel Green • Michael Ilbert | 3:57 |
| 3. | "We Pray" (with Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini) | 3:53 | ||
| 4. | "Jupiter" | 3:55 | ||
| 5. | "Good Feelings" (with Ayra Starr) | 3:42 | ||
| 6. | "Alien Hits / Alien Radio" (stylised as "🌈") | 6:09 | ||
| 7. | "I Am a Mountain" | 3:03 | ||
| 8. | "Aeterna" | 4:13 | ||
| 9. | "All My Love" | 3:42 | ||
| 10. | "One World" | 6:47 | ||
| Total length: | 43:57 | |||
Apple Music version
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "A Film for the Future" (Video) | 0:25 (trailer) |
Draft Tracklists[]
This tracklist was written in December 2023, which is possibly one of the first versions of the tracklist for this album, and it shows that this version could have had 11 tracks, the following tracks are presented below:
1) Moon Music
2) Man In The Moon
3) Jupiter
5) All My Love
6) Neon Forest
7) M.U.S.I.C.
8) Angel's Song
9) We Pray
11) one world
Outtakes[]
- "Man in the Moon"
- "M.U.S.I.C."
- "2 Aliens"
- "Miserere"
- "Weekday"
- "A Wave"
- "Robots"
References[]
- ↑ NME - Coldplay reveal they’re back working in the studio as they share their favourite songs
- ↑ Music-News.com - Coldplay have been in the studio with Nile Rodgers
- ↑ Daily Mail - EXCLUSIVE 'My life is like a dream': Two-time cancer survivor Nile Rodgers, 70, says he 'feels like a million bucks' and has no plans to 'take a break' from his career
- ↑ NME - Coldplay tease new album ‘Moon Music’ is nearly finished
- ↑ Billboard - Coldplay Are Finishing Work on Their Next Album, ‘Moon Music’
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