Mylo Xyloto

Lore & Background

The narrative unfolds on the planet Silencia, ruled by Major Minus, who enforces a war against sound and colour to starve out predatory creatures known as 'feeders'. The protagonist is Mylo Xyloto, initially a 'silencer' tasked with hunting 'sparkers', people who harness light to create sparks akin to graffiti. He encounters Fly, the most wanted sparker, and through her discovers his own abilities and connection to the Car Kids, a faction founded by his parents Aiko and Lela. While interviews suggest a love story between separate characters Mylo and Xyloto, the album comics depict Mylo as the main protagonist meeting the girl named Fly. Drummer Will Champion describes the arc as one of characters 'falling in love and trying to escape together', with a central theme that 'love conquering all' can overcome the oppressive regime.

In Their Own Story

The band originally planned two separate records: a stripped-down acoustic album and an electric one called Mylo Xyloto. However, they realized they could not focus on both, noting that songs like 'Paradise' required their new electronic territory. A turning point occurred with the song 'Charlie Brown'; initially played on an accordion for the acoustic concept, bassist Guy Berryman insisted it belong to the electric project, leading the band to combine them into one album. The final result features worldbeat elements from their predecessor but is dominated by electro-rock sounds, starting with synthesised vocals in 'Hurts Like Heaven' and R&B beats in 'Princess of China'. Three short instrumentals serve as experimental electronic interjections throughout the record, bridging tracks like 'Us Against the World', which kept its stripped approach, and the newly formed 'Charlie Brown'.

Reader's Guide

Released after being postponed from December 2010, the album debuted at number one in the UK with 208,343 units sold in its first week, setting a digital sales record of 83,000 copies. It also broke an iTunes record by selling over 500,000 digital copies in a single week until surpassed later by Beyoncé and Adele. In the US, it became Coldplay's third number-one debut on the Billboard 200 with 447,411 first-week sales. The artwork, revealed on 12 August 2011, was created with street artist Paris and longtime collaborators Tappin Gofton. It features a graffiti wall painted by the band in nine parts, with half of the CDs showing silver initials 'M X' via a die-cut sheet and the other half displaying the full name. The album received generally positive reviews for its uplifting tone, though some critics found it overproduced.

Did You Know?

• The band recorded live takes at a new studio called The Beehive near their original HQ in Primrose Hill.
• Bassist Guy Berryman refused to let the song 'Charlie Brown' be played on an accordion, forcing it into the electric album concept.
• The cover art features a die-cut sheet that reveals silver initials 'M X' on half of the CD copies.
• Drummer Will Champion noted the story focuses on characters falling in love and trying to escape together.
• The album's title references both the two main characters (Mylo and Xyloto) and the word 'xylophone' as a graffiti tag.