Ed Sheeran to release new album Play in September
Ed Sheeran will release his eighth studio album in September.
Ed Sheeran will release his new album, ‘Play’, September 12.
The 'Shape Of You' hitmaker has revealed that the unique collection - which was a collaborative effort with producers and artists from across the globe - was made during the "darkest period" of his life, and is a "real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish."
Ed has also dropped the second single, ‘Old Phone’, which follows 'Azizam'.
The difficult time he is referring to is 2022; when his best friend Jamal Edwards died at the age of 31, his wife Cherry was diagnosed with a tumour while pregnant with their second child, and he missed his grandmother's funeral due to a court hearing over one of the lawsuits he was subjected to after being accused of plagiarism.
Ed said of the LP: "Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life. Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring.
"I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life. It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that I love about music, and the fun in it, but also where I am in life as a human, a partner, a father.
"Going into this album campaign I said to myself ‘I just want everything I do to be fun and playful’ - so that’s why we are building pubs for folk jams, doing gigs on open top buses and singing in pink cowboy hats on bars.
"The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic. You can preorder play now, many many more playful things to come before it’s out x."
A press release notes of the album: "Inspired in part by his exposure to Indian and Persian musical cultures—and their surprising connections to the Irish folk tradition he grew up with, through shared scales, rhythms, and melodies— he explored this borderless musical language, giving the album its distinctive, fresh edge."
'Play' follows Ed's 2023's 'Autumn Variations' and '-'.
