“I happened to walk in the studio and they just asked me to join the circle, like, ‘Whoa, hey, great.’ I had my guitar, walked in and started playing”: How Nile Rodgers ended up on the latest Coldplay album

Aside from his decades-spanning work with Chic, Nile Rodgers’ Midas touch in guitar playing and production has led him to collaborate on an endless list of earworms by the likes of David Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross, and Daft Punk. Another mega-act that Rodgers recently added to his star-studded list? Coldplay.

“I happened to walk in the studio and they just asked me to join the circle, like, ‘Whoa, hey, great,’” Rodgers tells Grammy.com.

“So I had my guitar, walked in and started playing. That's unusual in today's world because rarely is the band there, and I happened to have my guitar. That was just a very sort of freak occurrence, and it wound up being cool.”

GOOD FEELiNGS - Coldplay, Ayra Starr (Official Lyric Visualiser) - YouTube

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What transpired was the disco-inflected Good Feelings from last year’s studio album Moon Music, which features the Chic co-founder's signature guitar work – alongside guest vocals by Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Ayra Starr.

“The thing that makes my life exciting is the fact that I always feel like I'm ready. I drag my guitar with me everywhere. If somebody wants to write or perform, I'm down,” Rodgers says matter-of-factly.

“I learned years ago to not be afraid of failing or making a mistake or having people criticize it because that's sort of what music is all about. You definitely want to touch people's hearts, you want to get some kind of emotional response; most of the time you want them to like it.”

2024 was also the year of another album that Rodgers was credited on: Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, recently crowned Album of the Year at this year’s Grammys. He contributed his guitar chops to the track Levii’s Jeans, which was itself nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.