Coloratura

Album: Music Of The Spheres (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Coloratura" is a musical term referring to the extravagant ornamentation of a vocal melody, especially in operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries. The word means "coloring" in Italian. Here, Coldplay describe a voyage into the cosmos towards a fictional nebula named Coloratura where "love comes pouring out and everyone's allowed."
  • This 10-minute multi-suite space epic is the closing track of Music Of The Spheres. The extravagant prog rocker name-checks the pioneering astronomer Galileo, the Pioneer space missions, and such celestial bodies as Helix, Oumuamua, Heliopaus, Neptune and Betelgeuse.
  • The song ties in with the album's interstellar theme, which Coldplay singer Chris Martin said came to life after he watched the Star Wars movies. He recalled watching the scene with the cantina band playing at the spaceport and was left wondering what musicians are like elsewhere in the universe.
  • At 10 minutes and 18 seconds, this is the longest song Coldplay have ever released.
  • Coldplay wrote the song with:

    Swedish hitmaker Max Martin.

    Paris Strother of the LA-based future-soul band We Are King.

    String arrangers Davide Rossi (who worked with Coldplay on Viva La Vida, Mylo Xyloto and A Head Full Of Dreams) and John Metcalfe of Durutti Column.
  • Max Martin produced the song with co-production from longtime Coldplay collaborators Rik Simpson and Bill Rahko.
  • Coldplay told Apple Music they wanted something "unashamedly long and complicated" as a counterbalance to some of the poppier tracks.

    The song actually started off with more of a conventional structure, then Chris Martin turned up with an arrangement incorporating different interludes and sections. The band and the producers then pieced it all together.

    Max Martin barely got involved on this track. Coldplay commented: "If he got hands on it, I think it would be chopped up into something a lot shorter, the chorus 10 seconds in."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.