Coldplay Kick Martin Out Of Studio

Does Coldplay need Chris Martin?

His bandmates (can you name any of them?) apparently didn't think so when they recently recorded new material with producer Brian Eno in their London, England studio.

"Chris has been banned from the studio for these first two weeks," studio mole Roadie #42 wrote on Coldplay's website on Wednesday. "Now, before the rumour mill cranks its way excitedly into life, this does not indicate any kind of split in the camp.

"This is an experiment of Brian [Eno]'s (a phrase I feel I may have a hard time not over-using as the project progresses). Rather than have Chris's demo recordings come in fully-formed, leading the songs in a particular direction, Will [Champion, drums], Guy [Berryman, bass] and Jonny [Buckland, guitar] are constructing their own musical underpinning with little idea of what Chris had in mind. For many of the tracks, they hear nothing but the vocal track.

"The fact that this is such a crazy way of going about things seems to encourage them to go off in deliberately strange and adventurous directions. Often, they come in first thing in the morning and listen to Chris's idea once, before going out into the live room and working up something based purely on how the song 'felt' to them on first listen, paying little heed to what chords he chose or how the melody sat.

"The absence of the immediately recognisable piano and voice makes the sounds coming through the speakers seem very fresh, new and exciting. When Brian makes the move to his laptop and brings Chris's voice back in, the familiar Coldplay melodies and emotions are loud and clear, but the canvas they are set against has become wider, more vivid and even more daring.

"Will, ever the multi-instrumentalist, is all over the studio. He spends a good deal of time at his laptop (indeed, one of my favourite tracks from these sessions comes from a drum loop he brings into the studio early on. It's like the backing track from Lost! has been struck down with a very heavy fever and has taken off on safari through a surrealist painting). He's also on the pianos and Chris's guitar for much of the time. Occasionally, he'll even have a go on the drums.

"Guy, too, is clearly loving the creative playground that the studio offers. As bass players often do, he seems to have a great overall view of the songs from the inside out. His innate sense of what might work or what might be required allows him to contribute a huge amount by way of ideas for directions to head off in.

"Jonny has dug up the old Moog synth that Guy used to play on the X&Y tour and has hooked it up to his guitar rig. The sounds he coaxes range from the bizarre and the ugly to the most downright gorgeous things that you'll ever hear.

"Everyone is away from their assigned roles and it's as though playing the 'wrong' instruments has given them the freedom to play fearlessly like kids — like a new band that's just got together. The results are quite astounding.

"So what of Mr Martin in all of this? Somewhat predictably, he's not slouched on a sofa in front of daytime television. He's up the road at another studio pouring out songs in a writing project with another artist."

Roadie #42 didn't divulge who this other artist was, so go ahead and think that it's whoever you'd like to hear Martin collaborate with.

Coldplay were nominated for a best international album Juno Award on Tuesday and will look to win the prize again like they did in 2006 for X&Y. They'll appear on CBS' 60 Minutes at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, just prior to their performance and chance to pick up seven trophies on the Grammy Awards telecast later in the evening. The group are also up for four BRIT Awards, which will be presented at London, England's Earl's Court on Feb. 18.

Coldplay will resume their world tour in support of last year's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends this month with these shows:

Feb. 11-12 Tokyo, Japan @ Saitama Super Arena
Feb. 14-15 Osaka, Japan @ Kobe World Kinen Hall
Feb. 18 London, England @ Shepherds Bush Empire w/The Killers
Feb. 27-28 Perth, Australia @ Burswood Dome
March 3-5 Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena
March 8-9 Brisbane, Australia @ Entertainment Centre
March 11-12, 14-15 Sydney, Australia @ Acer Arena
March 18-19 Auckland, New Zealand @ Vector Arena
July 2 Arras, France @ Main Square Festival
July 3 Werchter, Belgium @ Rock Werchter
July 5 Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
Aug. 16 Herning, Denmark @ MCH Arena
Aug. 19 Bergen, Norway @ Koengen
Aug. 22 Stockholm, Sweden @ Olympic Stadium
Aug. 25 Hannover, Germany @ Hannover Stadium
Aug. 27 Dusseldorf, Germany @ LTU Arena
Aug. 29 Munich, Germany @ Reitstadion Riem
Aug. 31 Udine, Italy @ Stadio Friuli
Sept. 2 Bern, Switzerland @ Stade De Suisse
Sept. 4 Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi Olimpic
Sept. 7 Paris, France @ Parc Des Princes
Sept. 9-10 Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Goffertpark
Sept. 12 Manchester, England @ LCCC
Sept. 14 Dublin, Ireland @ Phoenix Park
Sept. 16 Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
Sept. 18-19 London, England @ Wembley Stadium