The singer-songwriter is fittingly releasing his LP on the autumnal equinox.
Autumn is coming for Ed Sheeran. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter announced on Thursday the upcoming release of his new album, Autumn Variations, on Sept. 23. Fittingly, the date coincides with the autumnal equinox.
"Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded," Sheeran said in a statement announcing the news.
"When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on, and when I learned about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion," he continued. "My dad and brother told me about a composer called Elgar, who composed ‘Enigma Variations’, where each of the 14 compositions were about a different one of his friends. This is what inspired me to make this album."
Autumn Variations -- which will be released via Sheeran's own Gingerbread Man Records -- finds the singer re-teaming with producer and close collaborator Aaron Dessner.
"We wrote and recorded non-stop and this album was born out of that partnership," Sheeran said. "I feel he has captured the feeling of autumn so wonderfully in his sonics and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do."
The full-length will drop one week after Sheeran wraps the North American leg of his Mathematics World Tour. The record-breaking trek celebrates the culmination of his five albums, +, x, ÷, + and -.
Sheeran's live shows have packed some star power and drawn high praise from one superfan in particular: Chris Hemsworth. The action superstar opened up to ET about his unabashed love for Sheeran after seeing him in concert three times in a matter of months.
"I'm a fan. I saw him twice back home, 'cause he played in Australia, and then we flew into New York yesterday. I'd like to say it was for this premiere, but it was for Ed Sheeran," Hemsworth admitted while promoting his film, Extraction 2. Hemsworth added that, at this point, he feels he should be "president" of the singer's fan club.
"I was gonna blame it on my kids and say my kids wanted me to come, but they're not even here," Hemsworth said with a laugh.
Sheeran's shows come amid an epic summer of tours, including Beyonce, Drake and Taylor Swift.
"What's nice about everyone's show, is everyone's show is so individual to them, and everyone's got different shows," Sheeran said about the myriad of live music offerings, speaking with Andy Cohen on his Deep & Shallow Podcast on SiriusXM.
"I would love to go and see Taylor's show, but we're all playing on the same dates every single weekend. I think there's a chance, next year when she's in the U.K., then I'll be free," he continued.
Sheeran also addressed where he stands in terms of re-recording his Reputation collaboration with Swift, "End Game."
"No, I haven't. No," Sheeran said when asked if he re-recorded the hit track with Swift. "But 1989 (Taylor's Version) is the next one coming out. That's the next one."
As for his own release, Sheeran revealed the album artwork and full tracklist for Autumn Variations in his announcement on Thursday. See them below.
Autumn Variations tracklist:
1. Magical
2. England
3. Amazing
4. Plastic Bag
5. Blue
6. American Town
7. That’s On Me
8. Page
9. Midnight
10. Spring
11. Punchline
12. When Will I Be Alright
13. The Day I Was Born
14. Head > Heels
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