Chris Martin and co. seem to have mastered the art of the generic pop-rock song when they wrote the title track for their last album Viva La Vida. Why else would the British alt-rockers keep finding themselves under scrutiny from other musicians accusing Coldplay of ripping them off? First it was Joe Satriani, claiming the foursome stole the melody for “Viva la Vida” from his song “If I Could Fly”, but now Cat Stevens has joined in on the drama, claiming the band actually ripped off the melody from his song, “Foreigner Suite”.

Unlike Satriani, Stevens has not said he will take legal action against the group, but the musician told The Sun that he is the real inspiration behind Coldplay’s music. Though this claim might seem a bit more plausible than the Satriani case, (can’t you envision Chris Martin rocking out to Cat Stevens over Joe Satriani any day?) we have to say, it is probably one more instance in pop song writing, where a generic melody takes the shape and sound of some other melody that was already written. It is the risk you run when in pursuit of writing a three-chord hit, too bad Coldplay just found a bit more success than their accusers while doing so.

This is not the first time Stevens has been a victim of song writing copy cats. In 2003, Stevens and The Flaming Lips agreed to split the royalties from the Lips’ song, “Fight Test” after it was said to be too similar to Stevens’ 1970 song, “Father and Son”. Even though Stevens doesn’t seem interested in pushing legal action against Coldplay, let this be a note to Chris Martin while in the studio: Just let Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno write all of your songs.

Jon Hopkins came back to New York for the first time since his Madison Square Garden show opening for Coldplay, and the scene this go around was much different. I tried to catch him at the Museum of Natural History where he performed with Four Tet, but he was late in arriving, so we rescheduled to do the interview in our offices the day after he performed an intimate show at Pianos.

The composer, pianist and self-taught producer has worked with Brian Eno, Herbie Hancock, David Holmes and the previously mentioned Coldplay, yet few on our shores know of him — except for maybe the song he wrote for Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album, “Light Through The Veins”. His range of ambiant to trance to movie scores is nearly as impressive as his resume, which is just one of the reasons I wanted to talk to him.

Fully display on his upcoming record, and first in four years, Insides [May 5, Domino], Hopkins abilities represent the work of someone who has spent long hours honing his craft. Yes, Insides does include his version of “Light Through The Veins”, but it also includes a thorough representation of someone who is quickly becoming one of the best young producers of our era. As his bio states, Hopkins transcends genres, melding digital coldness with subtle, bucolic textures; veering from skewed elegance to strange, unsettling depths.