Music of the Spheres

Music of the Spheres is the ninth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 15 October 2021 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States. The album was produced by Max Martin, who is a new producer to the band's discography. It features guest appearances from Selena Gomez, We Are King, Jacob Collier and BTS. It also features contributions from electronic producer Jon Hopkins.
An space-themed concept album, Music of the Spheres is set in a fictional planetary system called The Spheres, which contains nine planets, three natural satellites, a star and a nebula, each of which corresponds to a certain song. According to lead singer Chris Martin, its concept and themes were inspired by the Star Wars film franchise, which made him wonder what other artists could be like across the universe.
The album received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised its pop composition, but criticized its concept and superficial feeling.
Background
The idea for a space-themed record had been envisioned by the band since 2010, when lead vocalist Chris Martin proposed a project of building "a solar system", as stated in a blog published by the band, named "Roadie #42". At the time Everyday Life was released, in November 2019, one of the hints was hidden within the bifold of the booklet of the physical vinyl and digibook editions of the album, in which a black and white billboard in a field advertises "Music of the Spheres". In the bottom left corner, smaller writing says "Coldplay coming soon". This, combined with the band's history of teasers for future material, fueled speculation about Music of the Sphere's themes and release date. Other hints to future material were purportedly hidden within song lyrics and music videos from the Everyday Life era.
Style and concept
Lead singer Chris Martin stated that the theme for the album was inspired by "wonder what musicians would be like across the universe" after watching the fictional Mos Eisley cantina band perform in Star Wars and making speculations in relation to outer space sounds.
The album is set in a fictional planetary system called The Spheres, which consists of nine planets, three natural satellites, one star and a nearby nebula. Each track on the album represents a celestial body from The Spheres. Following the album's track listing, they are: Neon Moon I ("Music of the Spheres"), Kaotica ("Higher Power"), Echo ("Humankind"), Kubik ("Alien Choir"), Calypso ("Let Somebody Go"), Supersolis ("Human Heart"), Ultra ("People of the Pride"), Floris ("Biutyful"), Neon Moon II ("Music of the Spheres II"), Epiphane ("My Universe"), Infinity Station ("Infinity Sign"), and Coloratura ("Coloratura"). Supersolis is the star at the centre of the system, and Coloratura is the Nebula. Each celestial body in The Spheres has its own language: EL 1 for Neon Moon I, Kaotican for Kaotica, Mirror Text for Echo, Qblok for Kubik, Aquamarine for Calypso, Supersolar for Supersolis, Voltik for Ultra, Bloom for Floris, EL 2 for Neon Moon II, Spheric for Epiphane, Infinitum for Infinity Station, and Coloraturan for Coloratura. An unnamed natural satellite orbits Echo, while both Neon Moons orbit Epiphane. A lost planet called Aurora is also part of the system, although it remains unknown whether a hidden song will represent it.
Martin uses the planets as a canvas to explore the human experience: "It's really another record about life as a human person, but given this freedom that comes when you pretend it's about other creatures in other places."