ED Sheeran has announced the arrival of his much-anticipated new acoustic album, Subtract, the final entry to his Mathematics album series and more than a decade in making.
The musician put speculation to rest that he was about to announce new material, unveiling in full the details of his sixth studio album, which has been co-written and produced by Aaron Dessner, who worked on close friend Taylor Swift's lockdown albums folklore and evermore.
More than a decade in the making, Sheeran had collected over 200 songs that he said was part of his plan to make "the perfect acoustic album" but several personal crises last year saw the album in that form scrapped.
In a statement, Sheeran said: "Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.
Sheeran continued: "I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air."
- (Subtract) will be available May 5 and complete Ed's Mathematics Albums era, which started all the way in 2011 with his debut album +, with x, ÷ and = all following in the subsequent years.
It has also been announced that Ed will be heading out on a small UK arena tour in support of the album – with shows taking place this March, where he'll be performing the yet-to-be-announced lead single from Subtract.
See Sheeran’s full message about ‘–’ below.
I had been working 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 at the start of 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 thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.
Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.
As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s 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.
This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract. – The Vibes, March 2, 2023
