Ed Sheeran will release new album ‘=’ (Equals) on 29th October 2021 through Asylum/Atlantic.
The announcement comes with the release of new track ‘Visiting Hours’, which features backing vocals from Kylie Minogue and Jimmy Barnes. You can watch a performance of the track above.
‘=’ is the fourth instalment in Sheeran’s symbol album series and it’s a body of tracks that were made over a four-year period following ‘÷’ (Divide). The album features the huge number one hit ‘Bad Habits’.
Written and recorded across Suffolk, London, Sweden and LA, the album’s executive production comes from Ed Sheeran, FRED (‘No.6 Collaborations Project’) and Johnny McDaid (‘Divide’), with additional writing and/or production provided by Steve Mac, Joe Rubel, Amy Wadge, Foy Vance, Elvira Anderfjard, David Hodges, Andrew Watt, Lou Bell, Natalie Hemby and Ben Kweller. Sheeran’s brother, Matthew, a composer, also contributes string arrangements on ‘First Times’ and ‘The Joker And The Queen’.
The album artwork is a vivid collage of butterfly imagery symbolising the albums’ thread of ‘new life’ and is backdropped by one of Ed’s own abstract paintings.
Ed Sheeran commented – “= (Equals) is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me. My life changed greatly over the past few years – I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album. I see it as my coming-of-age record, and I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you.”
On 2nd September, Sheeran will play an intimate fan show at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut album ‘+’.
The track listing for ‘=’ is:
1. Tides
2. Shivers
3. First Times
4. Bad Habits
5. Overpass Graffiti
6. The Joker And The Queen
7. Leave Your Life
8. Collide
9. 2step
10. Stop The Rain
11. Love In Slow Motion
12. Visiting Hours
13. Sandman
14. Be Right Now
