And so the circle, or rather the string of mathematical signs, closes. Ed Sheeran, after “+” of 2011, “x” of 2014 and above all “ö” of 2017, the most acclaimed album, releases ‘=’ (Equals), perhaps his most complete work to be released – on October 29th – while he is at home in quarantine with his 14-month-old daughter, struck by Covid which in England continues to grind 45 thousand infections a day.
“I’m also vaccinated – he said -, just think if I wasn’t”. Equals collects 14 tracks, written over four years, following the release of the multi-award winning album ‘ö’ (Divide), the record-breaking album. But above all it is the album of the maturity that tells the adult Ed Sheeran, who in this period of time has also become a husband and father. The accent is therefore all on the experiences lived and on the people met, exploring the various shades of love (‘The Joker And The Queen’, ‘First Times’, ‘2step’), of loss (‘Visiting Hours’), of resilience (‘Can’t Stop The Rain’) and of paternity (‘Sandman’, ‘Leave Your Life’) as he analyzes his career and reality (‘Tides’). As the album cover also points out: a set of butterflies symbolizing a ‘new life’, painted on an abstract drawing made by Sheeran himself.
“Equals is a very personal album and it means a lot to me – commented the artist, sorry not to be able to present his latest work in person, but to have to do it only remotely. – My life has changed a lot in recent years: I got married, I became a father, I lost friends and in the album I reflect on all of this. I see it as an album of maturity and I can’t wait to share it with you all. “
In ‘=’ the entire musical world of the thirty-year-old singer-songwriter with 45 million albums and 150 million singles worldwide returns (the song ‘Shape of You’ has been certified as the most listened to ever on Spotify) who founded the his style on folk, soul, traditional Irish music, mixing them with a good dose of contemporaneity. From classic guitar songs with timeless ballads to more euphoric moments and with a more complex production, such as the first single that released this summer, Bad Habits, certified Double Platinum in Italy and for 12 consecutive weeks at the top of the English chart of the best-selling singles, making it the longest running track at # 1 since Tones and I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ in 2019. Written and recorded in Suffolk, London, Sweden and Los Angeles, the executive production of the album was entrusted to FRED (No. 6 Collaborations Project), Johnny McDaid (Divide) and Ed himself, with contributions from Steve Mac, Joe Rubel, Amy Wadge, Foy Vance, Elvira Anderfjard, David Hodges, Andrew Watt, Lou Bell, Natalie Hemby and Ben Kweller. Ed’s composer brother Matthew participated in the work with the string arrangements on ‘First Times’ and ‘The Joker And The Queen’. Waiting to resume the live shows – Sheeran is able to hypnotize stadiums of 90 thousand people only with his voice accompanied by the guitar – and to return to Italy too (at the moment, however, no date confirmed), the singer-songwriter has shown off in some interviews of his progress in Italian, made during the lockdown, after the experience of the version of “Perfect” sung with Andrea Bocelli. Meanwhile, a European tour is scheduled to start from Dublin in April, which in June will make a stop for five evenings at Wembley stadium in London.
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