ROME, MAR 01 – Ed Sheeran will release his new album “-” (Subtract) – the latest in his ten-year era of math albums – on May 5th. An album that returns to Ed’s songwriting roots and was written in a context of personal pain but also of great hope. “I worked on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album – said Sheeran -, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then, in early 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art. Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thinking about what the songs would be, I just wrote what happened. And in just over a week, I’ve replaced a decade of work with my deepest, darkest thoughts.” A difficult period for the singer-songwriter who summarizes as follows: “Within a month, my pregnant wife was told that she had cancer, with no treatment until after giving 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 going through a spiral of fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, with my head under water, looking up but not being able to come up for air. As an artist, I didn’t feel like putting out an album that wasn’t believable, that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life.” This album, therefore, “is like looking into the depths of my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to make an album that people like, I’m just putting out something that is honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is the account of what happened to me last February and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.” For ‘-‘ Ed Sheeran collaborated with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production and was photographed by Annie Leibovitz. (HANDLE).
(HANDLE)
