Maps of Music

Everyday Life (2019)

Where the lyrics of Everyday Life take you, and where it was really made.

The album was recorded across several countries, from a Tuscan villa to a mobile studio that could be moved between locations, because the band wanted to travel instead of staying in one studio.

Key places

Recording at The Bakery in London (2019)

Recording site The Bakery — The album's recording moved to venues in London, including The Bakery, after it began in Tuscany in December 2017. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Beehive in London (2019)

Recording site The Beehive — The Beehive in London is one of the London venues named as part of the album's recording sessions. The point shows the city-level area of the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording begins at Villa Tombolino in Tuscany (2019)

Recording site Villa Tombolino — Recording of the album began in December 2017 at Villa Tombolino in Tuscany. The point is placed at the level of the Tuscany region. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Woodshed in Los Angeles (2019)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The Woodshed in Los Angeles is named among the venues the album's recording expanded to after it began in Tuscany. The point is placed at the level of the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in studios in Johannesburg (2019)

Recording site Johannesburg — Studios in Johannesburg are named among the places the album was recorded in after its start in Tuscany. The point is placed at the level of the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Everyday Life: eighth studio album by British rock band Coldplay
• It is a double album released as a single CD, with the first half titled Sunrise and the other Sunset.
• Released 22 November 2019 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Atlantic in the United States
• Released alongside Coldplay: Everyday Life – Live in Jordan, with performances of each half broadcast from the Amman Citadel
• Many returning producers and collaborators joined, including Rik Simpson, Dan Green, Bill Rahko, Davide Rossi and Emily Lazar
• Its release marks the band's first studio double album

Background

• Speculation about the album's existence persisted after A Head Full of Dreams, amid rumours that Coldplay would disband
• First album by the band to feature profanity, on the tracks Trouble in Town, Arabesque and Guns
• Second studio album after Ghost Stories (2014) not supported by a major worldwide tour
• Artwork by Argentine artist Pilar Zeta, who also worked on A Head Full of Dreams

Recording

• Some tracks have roots in 2009; Dan Green said Arabesque was one of the songs that had been around since then
• Three members lived in the United Kingdom while lead singer Chris Martin lived in the United States, which changed the production approach
• The band wanted to travel to inspire the global sounds instead of being restricted to a single studio
• Dan Green set up a mobile studio, inspired by jam sessions from the previous world tour, that could be adapted to various locations
• Recording began in December 2017 at Villa Tombolino in Tuscany, then expanded to other venues
• It was one of the first non-reissue works mixed using Dolby Atmos technology

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1997 by Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman, who met at University College London.
• Will Champion joined in January 1998; the group first went by Big Fat Noises and Starfish before settling on Coldplay.
• Signed with Parlophone in 1999 after the EP Safety (1998) was financed by lifelong friend Phil Harvey.

Members

• Chris Martin: lead vocals, piano, keyboards, guitars.
• Jonny Buckland: guitars, keyboards, backing vocals.
• Guy Berryman: bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals.
• Will Champion: drums, percussion, piano, backing vocals.
• Phil Harvey: manager, later creative director, often credited as a fifth member.

Career

• Debut Parachutes (2000) won a Brit Award and a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album; A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) and X&Y (2005) followed.
• Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) won a Grammy for Best Rock Album and topped charts in over 30 countries.
• Music of the Spheres (2021) included My Universe with BTS, the first British group song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Over 170 million records sold worldwide; the Music of the Spheres World Tour became one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.

Reception

At release

• Everyday Life received generally positive reviews from music critics.
• Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph acclaimed the experimentation, saying the album feels organic, analogue and playful as Coldplay dip into different musical genres.
• Chris DeVille of Stereogum said the use of multiple genres worked more often than not and commended the more nuanced exploration of social issues.
• Charlotte Krol of NME said the record is proof that Coldplay are more adventurous than they are often given credit for.
• Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called the album wildly uneven and criticised the lyrical vagueness of songs dealing with sociopolitical matters.
• Adam White of The Independent called the album a valiant, if flawed, attempt to break from tradition.
• Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times found the album platitudinising but considered Martin's songwriting more focused than usual.

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average score of 73 from 26 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Became the band's second highest-scored album on the website, behind A Rush of Blood to the Head
• Some critics felt the album lacked thematic consistency

Records

• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 80,974 units sold, the eighth consecutive studio album by Coldplay to reach number one
• Third-fastest selling record of the year in the United Kingdom
• Debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 with 48,000 equivalent units
• Debuted at number 10 in Japan with 5,886 physical copies
• IFPI ranked it the eleventh best-selling release of 2019, with 740,000 pure units
• Sold more than a million copies as of January 2020
• Nominated for Best Recording Package and Album of the Year at the 63rd Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Coldplay announced two Amman Citadel shows in Jordan on 22 November, the release date of the album, performed without an audience and marked as the band's first ever performances in the country.
• The track titles spell the name of the interlude section and are revealed when the CD is loaded into a computer.
• Two days before the album's release, a music video for Daddy and a lyric video for Champion of the World were made available.
• The band announced that it would not play a world tour to promote the album until it had addressed concerns about travel and the environmental impact of the shows.
• The band's typewritten notes reached some fans by mail two days after posters teased the album in several cities.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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