"I just wanted to create joy and technicolour"
Ed Sheeran announced his next album and it will be one with Indian influences.
The global pop star announced his eighth studio album, Play, and it will be released on September 12, 2025.
It marks a sharp turn from his Mathematics series and a dive into Indian and Middle Eastern sounds.
Much of the album was inspired by Sheeran’s travels.
He said India had a profound influence on both his music and his mindset. The 34-year-old ended the recording process in Goa.
In the teaser, Ed Sheeran said: “The sounds are sounds that we don’t use in Western pop music.”
He’s seen playing the sitar and tabla, singing in Punjabi: “cham cham chamke sitare warghi.”
Ed added on Instagram: “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.”
The album’s lead single, ‘Azizam’, dropped earlier this month.
The second single, ‘Old Phone’, was released on May 2. Ed wrote it in India while jet-lagged.
Fans get a glimpse of Ed’s India trip in the Play announcement video. It shows him jamming on traditional instruments, travelling in buses and autos, and getting a tattoo in Punjabi on his shin.
Ed revealed: “This record was created in direct response to the darkest point in my life.
“I wanted to reconnect with joy and colour, and discover the music of the countries I travelled through on tour.”
Play is not a continuation of his symbol-themed discography. Instead, it’s a standalone album filled with cross-cultural experiments.
It will be released via Gingerbread Records and Atlantic Records.
View this post on Instagram
Ed Sheeran describes it as “a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish”.
He said:
“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.”
To match the playful tone of the record, Sheeran is doing gigs in cowboy hats and jamming in makeshift pubs. He also launched a nostalgic Instagram account, @TeddysOldPhone, filled with throwback photos.
He added: “The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic.”
Play is available for preorder now, with “many, many more playful things to come before it’s out,” Sheeran said.
Loading ...