Brian Eno talks to The Observer about Coldplay

[busybeeburns]

 

When influential music website Pitchfork listed its 100 greatest albums of the 1970s – which in certain other lists is calculated to be the greatest decade for rock music – the modestly immodest, driven, musical non-musician Brian Eno was directly and indirectly involved in at least a quarter of them. He spoke to The Observer, in which he mentions his work with Coldplay on several occasions. Here is the excerpts from the interview, below...

 

He's worked with U2, and more recently, as if relishing the snobbish horror of those who dismiss U2 as pompous irritants, he's attended to another ambitious four-piece male rock group with delusions of splendour, Coldplay, producing their last multi-million selling album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends and now, at the age of 61, finishing their next...

 

A mischievous ghost of the glammed up art pop star Eno that was first noticed as part of the theatre of Roxy Music now haunts the sound and image of the two biggest rock bands in the world who would claim to be, in fact, post-Eno as much as post-punk. Coldplay didn't really belong anywhere before Eno apart from inside their own success. Now they have attached themselves via Eno to a very particular history of avant pop practice. Eno himself is prone to chuckle good naturedly when faced with bemusement at his connection to Coldplay...

 

On working with U2 and Coldplay at the same time: "It was fine. A few jokes. I felt like a ­philanderer who was with another woman and might make a slip and call her by the wrong name in bed. I had one computer that had all of the Coldplay stuff and all the U2 stuff. I had to very carefully label each folder because I was paranoid that I might end up with the same basic track for each group and I wouldn't notice until it was too late. There was a chance the same track might have appeared on both albums."

 

Read the full interview courtesy of The Observer at the culture section of their website now. [thanks Luke]

 

[busybeeburns]

There's a great program with Brian Eno on BBC4 channel 116 UK right now if anyone is flicking! ;)