depression and anxiety about his wife’s illness

Ed Sheeran closes his mathematical equation, announcing his new album coming out on May 5th. The British singer, after =, will publish”– (Substract)”, a project which, as he has tried to tell in recent days, is a journey through his last 10 years. An album that will collect the singer-songwriter’s acoustic essence, but also his pain in recent years. Sheeran did not deny how difficult it was to approach the pandemic period, especially with the worries related to his wife’s health and the loss of one of his closest people: his best friend Jamal. Meanwhile, Sheeran also had to defend himself in court for a plagiarism suit brought by singer-songwriter Sam Switch for one of the singer’s most iconic songs: Shape of youwhich would have taken up the chords of a 2015 single entitled Oh why.

The change of direction with the new album – (Substract)

After x, ÷, No.6 Collaborations Project And =, for Ed Sheeran comes the latest episode of his math albums. The British singer-songwriter has announced the release of “– (Substract)”, a project that becomes a means of transport for a journey into the past for Sheeran, who returns to his songwriting-acoustic roots, after the last projects that had shifted their direction towards urban-dance integration in his ropes. “-“, as Sheeran announced, will be published next May 5, capitalizing on a 10-year work: “I worked on Subtract for a decade trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, 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.“.

The collaboration with Aaron Dessner, author also for Taylor Swift

Not only the musical carpet returns, but also the urgency to convey the emotions deriving from two very heavy years for the English author. In fact, Sherean stated that two of the most profound changes, even in the perception of his own music, are derived from two destabilizing events: “Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. 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, has passed away suddenly and found myself in court to defend my integrity and my career as a songwriter. I was going through a spiral of fear, depression and anxiety“. In the meantime, Sheeran has also revealed the formation of the record: the project was born in collaboration with Aaron Dessner of The National, one of the most important authors of recent years, who also collaborated with Taylor Swift. The project will consist of 14 tracks, a skimming of over 100 songs, 30 of which produced in just one month in a studio between Sheeran and Dessner. We just have to wait for May 5th.

The tracklist of – (Subtract)

• boat
• Salt water
• Eyes Closed
• Life Goes On
• Dusty
• End Of Youth
• Colourblind
• Curtains
• Borderline
• Spark
• Vega
• Sycamore
• No strings
• The Hills of Aberfeldy

Sheeran’s tour in 2023

Ed Sheeran has also announced a series of shows in British and European arenas for March/April 2023, which will also be the only shows scheduled in the UK and Europe for 2023. The singer-songwriter will play all the biggest hits in addition to his new single, not yet announced. Fans can pre-order the album before 9am Tuesday March 7 via Ed’s official website to get early access to pre-sale tickets (see full ticket sales dates above).

• March 23 – Manchester, AO Arena
• March 24 – London, The O2
• March 25 – London, The O2
• March 28 – Glasgow, Hydro Arena
• March 30 – Dublin, 3Arena
• April 2 – Paris, Accor Arena