MTV Coldplay Interview

http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/coldplay/41836-exclusive-coldplay-interview
2008

Is there a temptation to reinvent yourselves?

CM: I think as much as possible we look at what other people are doing and try and steal all the good bits from all of them. So you look at Umbrella by Rihanna and you think oh that drum beats good and you look at Stronger by Kanye West and think oh those glasses are good and then you look at Greenday.so we are affected by everythings thats going on but we steal from so many different places that hopefully it becomes untraceable.

Coldplay quotes to use

http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/3804/Coldplay-Mylo-Xyloto.aspx

Coldplay

Mylo Xyloto

The fifth album from the stadium indie group betrays a heavy pop influence

Mojo

A more streamlined affair, re-embracing themselves as an unpretentious yet big-sounding pop group. Print edition only 

Pitchfork

A band on top of a game they really don't have much competition in 

Deadmau5 interview

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?972

Todd L. Burns, 2008

 Joel Zimmermann, the man inside the mask, is a hitmaker—a producer who aims to please his legions of fans. And judging by his string of hits on Beatport over the past few years, he's done just that. In a Beatles-esque feat last year, for instance, Zimmermann had five of the top ten tracks on the download store's chart.

Deadmau5 online article

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/28/deadmau5-paul-morley

Paul Morley
2010

We're now talking about the DJ as a sort of manipulative entertainment technician with a special appreciation of the leisure needs of a spoilt, hooked-up and mobile audience. The 21st century DJ is a cheerleader, party planner, obsessive music lover, practical joker, self-branding organisation, content provider and techno-smart missionary who knows exactly how to give people the fun, escape and extravagance they crave in uncertain times.

Today, the DJ has understood how the old-fashioned music business, as a self-perpetuating system of distribution, procurement and promotion, has been quickly undermined by social media, and people's desire to form communities and be safely, ecstatically, together even as the new technology threatens to separate them.

The Canadian Joel Zimmerman, masked, branded and packaged asdeadmau5, has called one of his albums For Lack Of A Better Name, not least because what he does currently falls into the dance world – it gets tagged as prog house or electro house

But deadmau5 himself, because of how he operates as business, brand, imprint, conceptual artist, online communicator and delusional charlatan, and because of the dazzling electronic mouse head he wears, hiding away even as his presence is illuminated, is a warning sign of the future, and the emergence of a new kind of performer.

Mostly it's about creating an unreproducible spectacular physical presence that can be the equal of the time-freeing marvels that now endlessly spiral inside a screen in front of us.

Nothing new at all, then, except as a brand, even if he's just a descendant of Mickey Mouse – he's brand new in terms of how he communicated his message, exploiting ways to always be on sale, always available. Disney should pretend this is All New Mickey. Live, in the strange real world, not his favourite place, deadmau5 works on stage amid a light show that makes Las Vegas seem steam-powered. He seems to be positioned behind a monumental set of twin decks, the non-musical instruments that the enterprising likes of Pete Tong have transformed into international empires, and inside his absurd lit-up mouse head, inside the logo of his art and business, inside his very own anonymous fantasy, he's directing events. It's the personality DJ turned into sermonising sensationalist, the decks turned into hi-tech pulpit, the performer mutating into pure illusion, a new commercial art form emerging from the smoking ruins of pop history and the evolving integration of machinery and personality.

Deadmau5 interview

http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/6-deadmau5-music-making-secrets-196178

Don't rely on image

"[The mouse head] is not the most vital thing. I mean, I think the music should speak for itself. I'd like to think I wouldn't get booed off stage if I chose not to wear the head – I did gigs prior to having the head made and never had any problems. I'm aware though that, as a gimmick, it can create its own little monster as a brand."

Deadmau5 information - behind the mask - disney

http://tropiganda.com/2011/05/disney-to-buy-out-deadmau5/

Created by Toronto-native Joel Zimmerman, Deadmau5 skyrocketed to fame in the mid ’00s by producing hit after hit of ‘minimal house’ music and then playing said music at rave parties around the world wearing a motorcycle helmet stylized as a dead mouse head. Disney is now set to purchase the Deadmau5 persona from its inventor, though rumors that Zimmerman is no longer Deadmau5 have been circulating online since as early as March 2010.

In 2009, the Magic Kingdom-based corporation sued Deadmau5 in federal court, allegedly, for nine counts of trademark infringement, three counts of copyright violation, and one count of public defamation over the Deadmau5 brand and its unflattering portrayal of a dead mouse. Disney’s suit claimed that the Deadmau5 persona “too closely resembles the iconic Mickey Mouse logo,” which was trademarked in 1924, and which has been protected ever since by an battalion of lawyers loyal to the Magic Kingdom and its cartoon king.

Joel Zimmerman has only been seen in public without his helmet twice since February 19th, 2010, although he has allegedly performed as Deadmau5 over 90 times since then. Online rumors have fueled speculation about the state of Zimmerman’s mental health, though none suspected that he would ever allow his brand to be acquired by anyone, let alone the company that nearly destroyed it.

Coldplay - Branded identity presentation

http://www.slideshare.net/staceyh94/brand-identity-coldplay

Brand identity coldplay from Stacey

QUOTES

Branded identity that makes the album stand out off the shelf...big writing and the centre.

Colour becomes the branded identity...they are bold and bright

Coldplay - media studies review

It is only a blog of an A2 Media studies student however it is useful to gain an insight to other reviews on the album artwork

http://katiewalshawa2levelmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/brand-identity-coldplay.html

The first example I looked at was Coldplays new music video release "Every Teardrop is a waterfall". In this video they have cleverly used a range of animated designs across the video setting to illustrate the lyrics sung. They have also made the video have a slightly jerky look to it as each camera shot doesn't move smoothly between transitions. This is done purposefully to create a storyboard theme and look to it. There is lots of use of bright colours in the animations and designs that draws the audiences eyes to it, making them view the scene portrayed through the animations that the actual settings around them. I think this idea for a music video is fairly original and never really been done before so it works well to gain the audiences interest.

I also looked at the covers for their new album release called "Mylo Xyloto". They have used the same tactics that they did is the music video I have talked about above, using a series of bright colours and designs all merged into one cover that gives the impression of what the songs on the album are going to be like (uplifting, feel good songs etc.). It has also created a brand identity by associating their brand with the bright colours and animations used. They have kept the attention of these bright colours on the album covers by making the title a simple colour and font, and making sure there is no other content on the album covers. Looking at the music video and album cover as one product you can definitely see they have been created as one overall product and immediately  identify the Coldplay band when seeing these bright colourful animations and designs.

Coldplays use of brand identity is highly successful as many people who are familiar with their works will look at these products and immediately associate them with the band through the use of colour and animation.

Coldplay Mylo Xyloto Review

http://davidkeen.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/coldplay-mylo-xyloto-has-god-left.html

David Keen
2011

 With the final implosion of Oasis, maybe Coldplay are now trying to fill the gap in the market for optimistic rock songs. In many ways this mirrors the music: just as language is used for effect, not content, Mylo Xyloto is more of a sound than a collection of tunes. I found it harder to identify particular songs (with the exception of Paradise or the superb Princess of China) during early listens, or the overall flow of the album. Like the colourful but messy artwork, Mylo Xyloto is rich in musical colour, but it's a bit harder to identify particular shapes, either to the music, or to the words. The lack of a full set of lyrics with the CD maybe indicates that Coldplay don't really want to draw attention to their lyrics, and don't set as much store by them as some of their fans. 


http://beatwolf.com/reviews/albums/coldplay-mylo-xyloto/

The album on a whole is better than Viva la Vida but is tending to appeal more to the masses rather than looking after the needs of their die-hard fans.

CM- we just feel we have nothing to lose as a band so it’s nice to just feel free, I don’t know if it is commercial or if it’s just good or anything, but its full of love and passion


http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13074-leftrightleftrightleft/

Coldplay are the biggest band in the world because they believe themselves to be, which is the kind of titanic self-actualization typically associated with salesmen and self-help books. But they are humble in their hubris: Not only do they provide a service-- essentially giving listeners what they want-- but in this case, they're doing it without charge. Ironically, those contradictory qualities mean the band may be wasted in a studio, Eno notwithstanding.LRLRL suggests that Coldplay songs truly live only in vast concert halls and smallish arenas, where they are performed for, and arguably by, a captivated audience.

Coldplay Boigraphy

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/coldplay/biography.html

Coldplay are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1998. The group comprises Chris Martin (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass guitar), and Will Champion (drums, backing vocals, other instruments).

 Coldplay have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Coldplay released their first full-length album, Parachutes, in July 2000, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. "Yellow" and "Trouble" earned regular radio airplay in the UK and US. Parlophone originally predicted sales of 400,000 units of Parachutes; by Christmas, 1.6 million copies had been sold in the United Kingdom alone. Parachutes was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in September 2000.

Musical style

Coldplay's musical style has been defined as alternative rock, being compared to Jeff Buckley and Oasis. Lead singer/songwriter Chris Martin once labelled the band's music as "limestone rock". The band's music has been called "meditative" and "blue romantic"; it " on their emotions" and Martin "endlessly examine his feelings". Martin's lyrical wordplay has been called feminist, similar to Andrew Montgomery of Geneva.

The tone of the band's first studio album, Parachutes, was described as melodic pop with "distorted guitar riffs and swishing percussion". It was also described as being "exquisitely dark and artistically abrasive". In a review for A Rush of Blood to the Head, the songs were considered to contain "lush melodies and a heartbreak" and that they had a "newfound confidence." The music on X&Y has been considered to be "ruminations on Martin's doubts, fears, hopes, and loves."

They also acknowledge the Scottish alternative rock band, Travis, as a major influence on their earlier material.