Mylo Xyloto Graffiti Electronic Era

Lore & Background

Mylo Xyloto is the band's first concept album and a thematic rock opera. It tells the story of a war against sound and colour on the planet Silencia, overtaken by a totalitarian government led by Major Minus, who controls the population through media and propaganda. The album follows Mylo Xyloto, a 'silencer' soldier, who encounters Fly, a sparker, and discovers his own sparker abilities and affiliation with the Car Kids. Drummer Will Champion noted the story involves characters 'falling in love and trying to escape together', with a theme of 'love conquering all'. In interviews the band said the album follows a love story between Mylo and Xyloto as separate characters, though in the comics Mylo Xyloto is the main protagonist and Fly is the sparker girl.

Reader's Guide

The album received generally positive reviews, praised for its uplifting tone and new electronic sound, though some found it bombastic and overproduced. 'Paradise' and 'Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall' received three nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012, while the album and 'Charlie Brown' received two further nods the following year. Internationally, Mylo Xyloto charted at number one in 34 countries. In the UK, it became Coldplay's fifth album to debut at number one, selling 208,343 units in its first week and setting a one-week digital sales record with 83,000 copies sold.

It broke an iTunes record for digital downloads sales by selling over 500,000 digital copies in a week. (Beyoncé's self-titled album and Adele's 25 topped this record in 2013 and 2015 respectively.) It became Coldplay's third album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 447,411 units in its first week. It was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011, moving over 908,000 copies, and has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide.