Jonny Buckland: Coldplay want to 'get on to the next thing'

For Coldplay's Jonny Buckland, the future is unwritten. "If we achieved all our goals, we might as well hang it up," he says. So Coldplay keeps striving, looking past one accomplishment to the next one, whatever that might be, writes canada.com.

Since the quartet of Buckland, Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Will Champion formed in London in 1998, it has sold more than 50 million albums, won numerous Grammy and Brit Awards, and had its latest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, named the most downloaded record in history. There aren't many goals left, except musical ones. That's still comparatively uncharted territory for a band as ambitious and apparently as broad-minded as Coldplay.

"We wanted to incorporate as many ideas as we could," notes Buckland of Viva La Vida. "In some ways, we did. At the same time, we didn't break free from ourself. We only knew that we wanted to do something different."

Almost a year after the album's release, the guitarist still is having trouble assessing it. "I don't think I have that objectivity, to tell you the truth. I'm not objective about any of our albums."

If Buckland seems reserved, it might be because Viva La Vida appears loftier on paper than it sounds on record. The album was intended to mash together a bunch of contemporary musical styles and production touches, including hip hop. Helping Coldplay to make all of this coherent on a few tracks was Brian Eno, who has done the same for U2, to which Coldplay often is compared. "They have a more objective view than you do," is Buckland's opinion of the role of producer. "You bring in a producer to help you sift through ideas."

Eno produced a much more dense sounding Coldplay and at the same time broadened its scope. However, the album is a ground-rule double rather than a home run. There is a feeling that Coldplay's reach exceeds its grasp, and that keeps Buckland and the band going. It's always been that way. The first album, Parachutes, was pleasant enough but hardly a portent of the future. Second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, was a giant leap forward that included the Grammy winning song "Clocks" and sent the band on its way. Third album, X and Y, consolidated Coldplay's success and was 2005's bestselling LP.

Viva La Vida was supposed to be another giant leap but it is more an untying of the straightjacket, which would have grown tighter if Coldplay had made another X and Y. Through it all, Buckland and his mates have continued to push and challenge each other, once in a while examining their role within the band, often swapping instruments in rehearsal to experience the strange or unfamiliar.

"I've got more into keyboards, soundscapes and such," he explains. "What changes from day to day is that you can be the peacemaker one day, the arguer the next. You have to work in ways to surprise each other," Buckland continues. "I think it's really important to do that, to expand your palette. It would be really dull for us, otherwise."

Thus, there is no looking back. Though Coldplay has many imitators, Buckland can't say there is a Coldplay signature. "No!" he says. "There's maybe a couple of songs where you say, 'That was Coldplay.' We want to get on to the next thing."

Coldplay's Canadian tour dates include:

June 17 -- Calgary (Pengrowth Saddledome)

June 18 -- Edmonton (Rexall Place)

June 20-21 -- Vancouver (GM Place)

July 30 -- Toronto (Rogers Centre)

Aug. 1 -- Montreal (Osheaga Festival, Parc Jean Drapeau)

Coldplay at the MTS Centre, Winnipeg (15th June 2009):