Coldplay’s Chris Martin joined Audacy hosts Klein and Ally along with a room full of KROQ listeners in his Malibu studio to talk about the band’s brand new album, Moon Music, giving fans an up-close look at the writing and recording process behind the new offering, now available everywhere.

Chris tells us he hasn’t felt any of the earthquakes that have occurred in the Malibu area lately; it’s been nothing but good vibes in this space he’s invited us into to hear and discuss  Coldplay’s brand new album Moon Music. “This is where I work every day. This music was recorded here and in so many other places too on tour. But yes, all the sort of nerdy stuff happens in this room,” he explains.

We think it’s probably well known by now that Chris doesn’t necessarily need a studio to create his art, using his phone to save sounds and voice memos wherever he may be, and holding onto those ideas for a later date. Even before welcoming us into his space he says, “This morning something came through. I woke up and it was a song called ‘Trillionaire.’ And I'm like, ‘I can't sing a song called ‘Trillionaire,’ but I had to record it anyway. It might never get used, but that's a pact I made to myself that if an idea comes, I'll record it.” In this case, he explains, “It's a dance song, and I guess it's trying to say, ‘If I could value your worth in terms of love and beauty... If that equaled money, I'd be…’ But I was like, ‘This is just terrible.’”

“But I've told you now, on KROQ,” he jokes, though admits, “I don't think that song will ever even make it to the rest of the band.”

Now on their 10th studio release – with a promise of two more before calling it quits from dropping albums – Chris acknowledges that although the band is not as “novel” as they were in years past there may be “no reason really for anyone to go and seek out a new Coldplay album, except that this one's really good. These are songs that we really love and have collected over the last few years, and all I can say is it's something we need to make. I don't know if anyone's going to like it, but we needed to make it.”

Back to the ideas swirling around his head, which have sprouted songs with Pop, Rock, Alternative, R&B, and Hip-Hop flavors throughout Coldplay’s almost 30-year tenure, Martin admits there have even been some Country-fied musings. “Well, Beyoncé did hers, didn't she?” he asks with a hint of longing. “An idea did come through for a Country song yesterday,” he admits. “But that wasn't very good either.”

Quickly noticing one of the attendees in the studio, Chris pointed out, “What I'm so grateful for in 2024, amidst all the troubles of the world, is that most of the community of Earth is coming together. For example, you're wearing a Limp Bizkit t-shirt -- in Coldplay’s studio -- and it's totally great. That's the world I dream about,” he says. “For real… when we first played in America, the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, the idea of someone being fans of both of those bands at that time was really weird to people, and now it's just not. And that is proof, in my world at least, that things are moving in such a lovely direction in a lot of places, not everywhere, but…”

Another positive direction that Chris and Coldplay have been trying to nudge the world is one of sustainability, making sure during their touring schedule to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and help plant millions of trees across the globe “The truth is that's not us being any different to any other human who just wants to try and clean up the workplace,” he says. “What we've been so lucky with on this tour is that we've invited and then attracted lots of people who come up with these brilliant ideas.”

“A lot of our vinyl this time,” he explains, “we're only making a limited amount, but a lot of it was picked up in rivers in Indonesia and Malaysia where we own these boats called ‘River Clean Up Boats.’ They were invented by this guy called Boyan Slat, this young Dutch guy who also has made this thing called The Ocean Cleanup. So, we're not doing anything except just helping someone else do what their idea was. That's what I feel our job is right now, is to just help uncover brilliant people and put them in front of other people.”

Before diving into some questions from the KROQ listeners in the room, Chris noted, “I’d just like to say one thing; I apologize because in America, everything is so compartmentalized in terms of radio categories. We are, we've never been a Rock band and I'm very grateful to KROQ for pretending that we have been this whole time because we're just not. So, thank you all you Rock people for allowing the softest of rockers onto KROQ.”

Listen to Klein/Ally Show's full interview with Coldplay's Chris Martin above, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy. Plus, follow our Coldplay Infinity Station and more on the free Audacy app.

Coldplay is on the road right now, bringing their celebration of 2021's Music Of The Spheres to every corner of the globe, including their home of the U.K. as well as Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Grab your tickets HERE.

Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Klein/Ally Show