Ghost Stories (album)

Ghost Stories is the upcoming album by Coldplay, to be released on the 19th May, 2014.

Background and recording
In October 2011, they released their fifth album Mylo Xyloto, which managed to chart at number 1 in 18 countries and charted in the top 5 in various other countries and has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The album has also broke an iTunes record for digital downloads sales by selling over 500,000 digital copies in a week. The second single from the album, "Paradise" charted at number 1 in the UK, and has sold over 600 thousand copies there, and has sold over 1 million copies in the US, as well as three other top 10 singles.

For their sixth album, they wanted to make a more "stripped-down, more acoustic collection", which they had planned for Mylo Xyloto, but never did. The recording for Ghost Stories began in 2012 at their studio The Bakery and the Beehive in London. Chris Martin wanted the whole band to contribute more to the writing, as he came up with the main ideas, for the album. "Magic" was built from and idea Guy Berryman had.

Lyrics and music
The fifth song on the album "Midnight" was built on a song written by Jon Hopkins in 2003, named "Amphora", which was never finished. The intro was created using a laser harp and a loop station, as visible in their most recent iTunes Festival show. The band worked with Avicii on the eighth song "A Sky Full of Stars".

Tour
In April to July, Coldplay will embark on a six-date promotional tour in support of the album. The band has performed at E-Werk in Cologne, Germany on 25 April and will perform at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on the 5th May, prior to the release of Ghost Stories. The band will continue the tour after the release of the album at the Royce Hall in Los Angeles on the 19th May, the Casino de Paris on the 28th May, the Tokyo Dome City Hall on the 12th June and closing the tour at the Royal Albert Hall in London on the 1st July 2014.

Credits
Coldplay
 * Guy Berryman – bass guitar, keyboards, synths, background vocals, production
 * Jonny Buckland – lead guitar, keyboards, synths, background vocals, production
 * Will Champion – drums, percussion, keyboards, synths, background vocals, production
 * Chris Martin – lead vocals, piano, keyboards, synths, guitar, production

Additional musicians
 * Avicii - piano (track 8)
 * Paul Epworth – keyboards (track 2)
 * Daniel Green – synthesizer (track 1)
 * Apple Martin – background vocals (track 1)
 * Timbaland – bass drum (track 4)

Technical personnel and artwork
 * Paul Epworth – production (track 2, 5, 8)
 * Rik Simpson – production (track 2, 5)
 * Daniel Green – production (track 2, 5)
 * Jon Hopkins – production (track 5, 8)
 * Avicii – production (track 8)
 * Ted Jensen – mastering (track 5)
 * Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 5)
 * Geoff Swan – mixing (track 5)
 * Mila Fürstová – artwork