Just because you’re the bassist for one of the biggest bands in the world, doesn’t mean you don’t know how to do other things, like fix a journalist’s broken tape recorder.
At least, that’s what it seems like when the demure Guy Berryman eagerly grabs hold of a suddenly malfunctioning tape deck on a sunny afternoon inside the band’s hotel in downtown Toronto.
“Maybe the tape’s too tight,” Coldplay’s boyish looking bassist mutters as he sets about fixing the problem.
And after a few false starts, everything’s running smoothly, which handily mimics how the band’s latest album, "X&Y" (out June 7), was written and recorded.
Brit-pop’s progenitors, who introduced listeners to their stripped down acoustic sound on 2000’s “Parachutes” before conquering the rock world with 2002’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” spent 18 months whittling down 60 song ideas, much to the chagrin of record execs and music fans alike. But the 12 tracks that make up “X&Y” clearly show that rock’s darlings were interested in crafting a fuller, more robust and ambient sound this time around.
“Some of the tracks didn’t stand up quality wise or they were a bit boring, but all we ever really set out to do with 'X&Y' was make something which demonstrates that we pushed ourselves further in terms of songwriting and musicianship,” Berryman says.
And to break free of the spare acoustical nodes that dominated on its predecessors, the band drew inspiration from two rock legends – David Bowie and Brian Eno.
“Eno,” Berryman enthuses, “has always been good at creating amazing atmospheric textures and that’s where that layered ambience that colours 'X&Y' is ultimately coming from.”
“Songs like 'White Shadows,' felt quite fresh for us and I think it sounds really different to anything that we’ve done before.”
So tracks like the aforementioned "White Shadows," “Square One” and “Speed of Sound,” pack on layers of sound, often beginning with singer Chris Martin’s gentle vocals and soft piano before making way for guitarist Jon Buckland’s crisp guitar, Will Champion’s rolling drums and Berryman’s steady bass line.
“We just wanted to push the boat out as far as it can go to create something that is hopefully more complete than anything we’ve done previously,” he says.
And while “X&Y” is a swirly pastiche of quiet numbers like “Fix You” and edgier tracks like “Twisted Logic,” the album finds Martin singing some of the group’s most pointed lyrics in their meteoric rise to superstardom.
“Ultimately our records are neither optimistic nor pessimistic, they’re realistic,” Berryman says matter-of-factly.
“That’s partly why we called the album 'X&Y,' he says with a grin.
“All the emotions on the record are up and down. It’s all about opposites really. Male and female, light and dark, happy and sad, everything has extremes, so the album’s about all these heightened perceptions.”
And after almost a year-and-a-half out of the spotlight, Berryman is ready to suit up again in his best rock ‘n’ roll armor as Coldplay ready themselves for a four-month tour of Europe and North America.
“I don’t really see doing music as being a job. I live for recording music, writing music, making music,” he says nonchalantly.
“And when we visit all these different cities, I’ll visit all the different vinyl shops.
“I’ve got a jukebox at home,” he laughs, “so I like to collect cool 7 inch singles.”
Coldplay stops in at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on August 2 and Montreal’s Bell Centre the following night.
