Coldplay to re-release nine albums on records made from recycled plastic battles
Coldplay are set to reissue nine of their albums on records made from recycled plastic bottles.
The Viva la Vida band are continuing their environmental crusade by reissuing their material on EcoRecord LPs - which are claimed to reduce carbon emissions during the manufacturing process by 85 per cent when compared to traditional vinyl production.
Jen Ivory, managing director of Coldplay's record label Parlophone, said: "We are incredibly proud to partner with artists such as Coldplay who share our commitment to a more sustainable future for music.
"The shift to EcoRecord LP for their releases is a testament to what's possible when innovation meets intention.
"It's not just about a new product, it's about pioneering manufacturing that significantly reduces environmental impact, providing fans with the same high-quality audio experience while setting a new standard for physical music production."
The band are re-issuing their debut album Parachutes (2000), A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), X+Y (2005), Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), Ghost Stories (2014), A Head Full of Dreams (2015), Everyday Life (2019) and Music of the Spheres (2021) in an eco-friendly manner.
The LPs are made up of around nine recycled bottles, which are cleaned and process into small pellets before being moulded into records.
Coldplay's most recent album - 2024's Moon Music - has already been released on an EcoRecord LP.
The Clocks band are attempting to tour in an environmentally friendly way but frontman Chris Martin previously admitted there is still "quite a long way to go" to find a fully eco-friendly way to perform around the world.
The 48-year-old singer told BBC Radio 2 in 2021: "We've been working with some amazing brands to see how we can cut down as much of the environmental impact as possible.
"We still have quite a long way to go. But we've already come quite a long way."
Coldplay teamed up with direct air capture pioneers Climeworks to ensure that their Music of the Spheres World Tour had a net-zero carbon footprint.
They said in a statement: "Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. We've been planning this tour for years, and we're super excited to play songs from across our whole time together.
"At the same time, we're very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis.
"So we've spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour's potential to push things forward.
"We won't get everything right, but we're committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn. It's a work in progress and we're really grateful for the help we've had so far."
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Strings played with his dad until the age of 10, before swapping to the electric guitar. 'I had enough of hanging out with old men who I had little else in common with,' he says. He found his subculture with the skaters, who listened to death metal and hardcore. His eyes light up when he tells me he has collaborated with Canadian death metal band Cryptopsy. 'I don't have anything else I can do if this fails. I'm not a carpenter, and I don't like cleaning windows.' After finishing high school in 2011, Strings moved in with a friend in Traverse City, Michigan. It was there he took to open mic nights, wooing with traditional bluegrass. The city, known for its beaches, lured him, as did the art gallery scene and microbreweries that attracted university students. There he got a sense that there was more to life than his small-town trappings, and meeting fellow bluegrass musician Don Julin inspired him to branch out and play more. In July, Strings will embark on his first tour of Australia. He's already got a few friends there, including Tommy Emmanuel and the Melbourne band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (some potential studio time has been set aside should their plans align). 'When I knew I was having a baby, Stu MacKenzie [frontman of King Gizzard] was one of the first I reached out to ask how do you manage touring and raising a family,' says Strings, who married his manager Ally Dale in 2023. The couple welcomed their son River in September. 'Having a son has put everything I do in perspective,' he says. 'Work and music are important, but my family and their wellbeing take the lead. If they're good, I am free to go sing.' Strings spent a decade on the road before success came his way. It's only in 2025 that he's lessened that gig load. Back in 2017, it was 200 gigs and 300 days away from home. 'You know there's a cornfield out there, but you can't make out the leaves because you're moving too fast,' he reflects of that time. For all his guitar-prodigy ability, Strings continues with a private guitar tutor and assignments to meet behind the scenes. He writes most of his songs on the road and is already working on a follow-up to last year's Highway Prayers. The jam-band hero teamed with producer Jon Brion (Aimee Mann, Kanye West) to make Highway Prayers, an album Rolling Stone dubbed 'funnier if you're stoned'. There's Americana pop on Gild the Lily; an a cappella harmony leads Leaning on a Travelin' Song, where the banjo gets its rock star moment; while Cabin Song fiddles its way to swamp-like rhythms. 'I don't have anything else I can do if this fails,' says Strings as he leans into his leather sofa at the Sunset Marquis on the day of the gig. 'I am not a carpenter. I don't like cleaning windows or working in the hot sun. I play music and if I don't have this, I don't know how I would provide for my family. 'I want to play the best show possible, so people will come back and see me next time. I don't want to go back to being poor,' says Strings. 'It's truly deeply ingrained in me to survive, and the way I do that is to entertain and go crazy on stage.' Strings was born and raised in Michigan by his stepfather Barber and mother Debra Apostol. His father died of an overdose when Strings was two. He thanks his maternal grandmother Connie for instilling him with kindness, and says she's the reason he carries a lot of 'Christian guilt' around to this day. She was the closest thing to an angel in his wayward upbringing. 'I grew up in a wild family, a little band of outlaws. I saw a lot of substance abuse and a lot of things happened to me when I was little, things too deep to go into,' Strings says. 'I was exposed to many people ruining their lives. We had toothless tweakers with sunken cheeks sleeping on our couch, and I didn't want to do that. If I stayed in [Michigan], I knew that was where I was headed.' School was difficult too, and with two addicted parents, finding a voice of reason was hard. 'I failed all through school because I was an asshole, but that was because I had a lot of pain at home,' he says. 'It's hard to learn about history and algebra when you don't know what you're going to eat tonight. I was looking for a break in the wall and when I found that break, I made a run for it and I didn't look back. I didn't want to end up in misery.' At 23, Strings got sober. 'I have smoked crack, tried heroin, done meth and all sorts of shit, but I knew if I did it regularly, I wouldn't be able to come back from it,' he says. I knew this wasn't a life for me.' Loading The proud family man says he's found his purpose in life – it's more spiritual than religious epiphany. Strings admits DMT therapy has helped see the proverbial light. 'I believe it's my duty to wave the bluegrass banner. I love to turn people on it and I have found my happy place,' he says. 'Bluegrass hits harder than an MP3, you know,' he smiles. 'When you hear the banjo in real life and somebody sings into a microphone, it's not enhanced by backing tracks or autotune; it's more human than that. That's where sweetness lies. That's where the songs live and how we survive this game.'
