Ed Sheeran has announced his upcoming eighth album “Play,” arriving Sept. 12 via Gingerbread Records/Atlantic Records.
The singer-songwriter commemorated the album announcement with the release of his new single “Old Phone,” co-produced with Ilya Salmanzadeh and Blake Slatkin. He’s been leading up to his album with the release of lead single “Azizam,” which dropped earlier this month, and he recently launched a nostalgic Instagram account @TeddysOldPhone with photos from his old phone.
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Sheeran was inspired by global sounds from India and Persia for “Play,” incorporating influences from the latter for “Azizam.” The song title is Persian for “my dear” or “beloved,” and he subsequently released a version of the song with Iranian singer Googoosh.
”Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” says Sheeran. “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.”
Check out the tracklist for “Play” below:
Opening
Sapphire
Azizam
Old Phone
Symmetry
Camera
In Other Words
A LIttle More
Slowly
Don’t Look Down
The Vow
For Always
Heaven
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