Ed Sheeran has revealed that his eighth studio album, “Play,” will be released on September 12 via Gingerbread Records/Atlantic Records.
To mark the announcement, Sheeran dropped a new single titled “Old Phone”, produced alongside Ilya Salmanzadeh and Blake Slatkin. This follows the earlier release of the lead track “Azizam” earlier this month. Alongside his musical rollout, Sheeran has been building anticipation through a nostalgic Instagram account, @TeddysOldPhone, where he’s been sharing old personal photos.
The singer-songwriter drew inspiration from a blend of global sounds, particularly from India and Persia, with Persian influence clearly heard in “Azizam.” The song’s title translates to “my dear” or “beloved” in Persian, and Sheeran also collaborated with Iranian pop icon Googoosh on an alternate version of the track.
”Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” Sheeran shared. “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.”
Below is the official tracklist for “Play”:
Opening
Sapphire
Azizam
Old Phone
Symmetry
Camera
In Other Words
A Little More
Slowly
Don’t Look Down
The Vow
For Always
Heaven
