With a new album to promote and emotions to ail about, it seemed inevitable that Chris Martin would be the next of Zane Lowe's subjects. The well-known DJ has made his BBC Radio 1 interviews the most-compelling and interesting features in the world of music since the glory-days of Top of the Pops and it is no wonder why. From Kanye West's strange outbursts to Eminem's self-reflection, these have become the most insightful analyses of musical artists, for their no-nonsense mannerisms (well, Kanye aside) and clear evidence of in-depth research.
Lowe seems to connect with these artists on a level that's much more interesting than anything you will hear across the board. Perhaps, it is because he is such an avid fan of a wide range of music. Perhaps, it's because he knows his stuff. Perhaps, it's simply because they respect his opinion (which is pretty much always flattering). Whatever the case, he gets results and in the first chapter of his four-part interview with Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin, we are given a taste of something quite unique: an interview that may finally defuse the notion that Chris Martin is a "complete douche."
I do not count myself amongst Coldplay's detractors but even I have to admit that at the best of times, they are scarcely exciting. When the news emerged however that Chris was splitting from smug-health-crazed-actress and wife Gwyneth Paltrow, I became interested in what would come from the band. The announcement of their sixth album Ghost Stories, with its coinciding singles in "Magic" and "Midnight" did not prove disappointing, with all this in light. Abandoning the commercial tenacities of their previous album, the band finally decided to put out something with a bit more edge; something you wouldn't have expected. Check out "Midnight" below and see what I mean.
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You may call it moany or self-indulgent or even just "terrible" but for a band, whose popularity and success mounts overwhelmingly high, this is a risk. The album will be no pop-affair. It will be Coldplay's Kid A (well not quite that drastic); it will suspend the criticism that they have yet to prove anything else. And with Zane Lowe- Martin emerges all the better for this. He's frank, he's honest and he's ready to reveal the side of Coldplay that has been kept mute for so many years.
