During an appearance on London's BBC Radio Tuesday, Coldplay

singer Chris Martin said that the band plans to stay out of the public

eye for the rest of the year to work on its next album with producer

Ken Nelson.

"We really feel that we have to be away for a while," Martin said, "and

we certainly won't release anything this year, because I think people

are a bit sick of us."

Martin said there's no pressure to match the sales of A Rush of

Blood to the Head, per se, but he's pushing himself to the extreme

because Coldplay are aiming to create songs that are more dynamic,

well-crafted and beautiful than anything they -- or anyone else

-- have ever done.

"We are trying to make the best thing that anyone has ever heard," he

said. "My philosophy at the moment in life is, why not try and be

Einstein, even if you're never going to make it?"

Martin's BBC interview, which lasted nearly a half hour, was primarily

to discuss the campaign for fair trade. He addressed music for only the

last few minutes.

In addition to talking a little about Coldplay, Martin discussed his

hero Johnny Cash, whom he referenced when he accepted a Grammy for "Clocks." He added that he wrote a song for Cash

and had been invited by producer Rick Rubin to record it with the

country legend.

"It was all ready and Rick Rubin said, '[Cash is] ill at the moment,

but then he's coming to L.A. and he's going to record this.' And then

he died," Martin recalled. "[Cash] was someone who stood up for

everybody and never got criticized for it, maybe because he lived it a

lot more than people like me. When you're a musician, you have to look

up to those people. He's my hero."

At the Grammys, Martin also sang the praises of U.S. Senator John

Kerry. "I mentioned John Kerry at the Grammys because someday, if he's

president, maybe he'll say, 'Maybe I'll meet with these Coldplay guys

and find out what they have to say about fair trade,' " he said.

Martin got interested in fair trade two years ago. He was invited by

Oxfam, an organization that works to combat poverty and suffering, to

visit Haiti and observe the working conditions and treatment of the

country's coffee and rice farmers. Martin spent over a week in the

country.

"They really feel the effects of product dumping and rich countries

subsidizing themselves," Martin said. "Haiti's rice farmers are crushed

by cheap American rice coming in having to pay no import duty, and that

rice is excess that's they don't need in America because it's paid for

by subsidies and they produce too much. So Haiti was a good example of

someplace that can't get off its feet because it can't get its industry

going."

While Martin said traveling to Haiti was an invaluable experience, he

didn't enjoy being there. "I thought, 'Well, I'm a rock star with a

worthy cause and I'm going to love it, and I just wanted to go home. I

thought, 'I can't hande it. It's disgusting. I want to go back to the

bubble which I live in. I can't deal with that reality, which is all

the more reason to be there. There's no state benefits, the government

aren't building roads, and no one's picking up the rubbish. It's

awful."

Since then, Martin has traveled to Mexico City and plans other

expeditions in the future. He knows that he's no Bono and realizes he

won't be able to schedule appointments with major world leaders, but

he's happy to be seen as the poster boy for free trade.

"We want to get the words 'fair trade' around. The more those words

become buzzwords or into the public's consciousness, the better," he

said. "I would be happy if some 19 year old hears about fair trade

because he likes Coldplay. And then years down the road, when he's the

CEO of some company, those ideas stick in his head."