Ed Sheeran has a new album coming. The singer announced on Wednesday the project will be called – (pronounced Subtract) and it covers a difficult period that spurred him to musically reflect on his “deepest, darkest thoughts.”
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In a handwritten note, Ed explained that, “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route for treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly, and I found myself in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter.”
“I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety,” the artist continued. “I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking but not being able to break through for air.”
He added that he had spent a decade “trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album,” but over a week he replaced all that work with his “deepest, darkest thoughts.”
This new album will be released on May 5 and Sheeran says it is “opening the trapdoor into my soul.”
“For the first time, I’m not trying to craft an album people will like. I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life,” he added.
Jamal Edwards, the music entrepreneur whose platform SBTV helped launch Sheeran’s career, died in February last year at the age of 31, with his last Instagram post being a birthday message to Sheeran, his “brother.”
Sheeran battled a plagiarism lawsuit over his 2017 hit “Shape of You,” and won the case in April 2022.
He announced the birth of his second daughter in May on Instagram, writing that he and Seaborn were “so in love with her, and over the moon to be a family of 4.”
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Subtract Tracklist:
Boat
Salt Water
Eyes Closed
Life Goes On
Dusty
End Of Youth
Colourblind
Curtains
Borderline
Spark
Vega
Sycamore
No Strings
The Hills of Aberfeldy
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