Artist Research:-

As we are still yet to fully decide whether we are using Coldplay or The Kooks I have researched into both artists as to help us with our decision.




Coldplay:-

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, completing the line-up. Manager Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998.

They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

The band has won a number of music awards throughout their career, including seven Brit Awards—winning Best British Group three times, four MTV Video Music Awards, and seven Grammy Awards from twenty nominations. As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Coldplay have sold over 55 million records worldwide. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth best artist of the 2000s.

The tone of the band's first studio album, Parachutes, was described as melodic pop with "distorted guitar riffs and swishing percussion" but also being "exquisitely dark and artistically abrasive". Such alternative rock style has been compared to bands like U2, Oasis, Radiohead and Travis. The band acknowledges the Scottish alternative rock band, Travis, as a major influence on their earlier material.

In their second studio album A Rush of Blood to the Head, the band draws inspiration from artists like Echo & the Bunnymen, Kate Bush, George Harrison and Muse. The songs in it were considered to contain "lush melodies and a heartbreak" and that they had a "newfound confidence." The music on their third release X&Y has been considered to be "ruminations on Martin's doubts, fears, hopes, and loves." It was particularly influenced by the artists Johnny Cash and Kraftwerk.

In Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends, the group's style was moving towards art rock, being influenced by the bands Blur, Arcade Fire and My Bloody Valentine. The band experimented with different instruments including orchestras, honky-tonk pianos and further so.

The Kooks:-

The Kooks are a British Indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2004. Formed by Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Paul Garred (drums), and Max Rafferty (bass guitar), the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty. Dan Logan was drafted in as a temporary replacement, until Peter Denton joined the band on a permanent basis in October 2008. Early in 2010 Pritchard announced the departure of drummer Paul Garred, due to a nerve problem in his arm. Late in the year, Garred rejoined for studio sessions, however Chris Prendergast plays drums when the band play live.

A self-described "pop" band, their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium.  With songs described as "catchy as hell", The Kooks have experimented in several genres including rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, and ska, at times being described as "a less severe Arctic Monkeys".

Self-described "musical whores", The Kooks have drawn on a number of varied sources to create their indie pop sound. Listing The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Chris de Burgh among their influences the band have gradually developed both their song writing style and musical presentation over the course of their three albums.

The band's debut album Inside In/Inside Out was touted as a typical Britpop record, owing influence to The Libertines, Thin Lizzy, The Police and containing elements of the 60’s Britpop movement. Furthermore Pritchard’s lyrical style was compared to that of a "younger, less pathetic version of Pete Doherty's mush-mouth style".The band themselves felt the album was not consistent in its direction. "The first record was definitely genre-hopping. The first album was finding its feet, it was gadabout," claimed Harris in an interview with Nadine Regan for The Sunday Business Post.

On the follow-up Konk, the band attempted to find a more mature and polished sound. Drawing on a much wider choice of material for the album (about 80 to 90 new songs had been accumulated within the band's repertoire by this stage), the band began to incorporate more a hard-edged rock focus into their music. Critics drew comparisons to the work of The Kinks throughout the album, it being recorded at the studio owned by Ray Davies. Also noted were the band’s growing similarities in musical direction to The Fratellis’ and the Arctic Monkeys. The band commented on the album’s style, "I think we've made a dynamic album," Pritchard said. "Every song has its own character.