Coldplay releases piano ballad in surprise new music

Coldplay on Thursday released a piano ballad in surprise new music by the English rockers to mark frontman Chris Martin's 40th birthday.

"Hypnotised," described by the band as a "new non-single song," is the first track off an EP entitled "Kaleidoscope" announced for June 2.

"Hypnotised" starts off with dream-like chimes and piano with hints of Sigur Ros before turning into a more traditional rock ballad.

The song -- in which Martin confesses he's "never gonna be a saint" but finds renewal through love -- is accompanied by a soothing video with images of the sea.

A Coldplay statement described the EP as a "sister release" to the band's last album "A Head Full of Dreams," which featured a song called "Kaleidoscope."

Besides "Hypnotised," "Kaleidoscope" features "Something Just Like This" -- Coldplay's recent collaboration with chart-topping New York electronic duo The Chainsmokers -- and three yet-to-be released songs.

Coldplay, which has enjoyed worldwide success since its debut album "Parachutes" in 2000, had hinted that "A Head Full of Dreams" may be its swan song when it came out in late 2015.

Coldplay has gone on a marathon global tour for "A Head Full of Dreams." An Asian leg opens on March 31 in Singapore before second rounds through Europe and North America.

The group will also headline a new Global Citizen festival in Hamburg on July 6 to press leaders of the Group of 20 major economies to work to end extreme poverty in the developing world.

source: AFP