Making and finishing Play in India was such a fun experience. Being there over the last decade through touring, I’ve met lots of local artists along the way, and I’ve been introduced to all types of music and cultures. I’ve loved this collaboration process so much and I wanted to represent as much as I could on this EP, says Edward Christopher Sheeran, who — fresh off getting more and more width with the success of his ninth UK number 1 album christened Play — made some good reads by further broadening his sonic horizons with the dropping of 'Play — The Remixes EP’.
It is a favourited evolution for bridging seasons, which finds the English vocalist-composer —documented by his euphony stage name Ed Sheeran — reimagining four donuts namely Heaven, Saphire, Don’t Look Down, as well as Symmetry; from his former original full-bodied berceuse chef-d’oeuvre, that elasticities an essential fresh twist, through dynamic coalitions with some of South Asia’s utmost distinguished aptitudes.
Opting for gut sounds of glory — the likes of Sooraj Cherukat who goes by the moniker Hanumankind, Santhosh Narayanan, Karan Aujla born Jaskaran Singh Aujla, as well as Arijit Singh; are Indian rappers, singer-songwriters, producers, instrumentalists, as well as actors — who sculptured a sleek way for a sophisticated take on Ed’s airy tempi blasts that enliven the listeners’ mood. Muscling vocal cords — mononymously known as Dhee — Australian soloist Dheekshitha Venkadeshan, as well as Jonita Gandi — a Canadian songster; also brought seriously polished creativity of massive notes as well as tenfold scales on the upper echelons.
Finding toughness in softness, upon its birth, the full-bodied ditty arsenal of ‘Play’ — stormed to top spot across the planet. Topping charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, as well as the UK.
This day and age, leading the charge on Play — The Remixes EP is the banger Symmetry, a hypnotic, beat-driven track featuring acclaimed Punjabi artist Karan Aujla; which has reaped over 13 million plays on owned by Google — American online video sharing platform: YouTube Music alone.
The accompanying official visual companion piece, was directed by Melbourne-based videographer as well as photographer Liam Pethick. The so good to watch very pretty means of telling as well as uncloaking through illustration, showcases a high-energy performance by Ed, Karan, as well as internationally renowned Norwegian Hip-Hop/Urban dance crew: The Quick Style.
“Karan is culture, and I love the movement he’s making with Ikky at the moment. It’s been so cool watching the thing he’s built and becoming a part of that world and journey. He taught me the Punjabi parts on this song in the studio, and we got to shoot an amazing video for it. I feel like this is the beginning of our collaborative journey, and I’m so excited to create more,” says Ed Sheeran.
The vibrant soundscape of the spick-and-span (extended play) EP by the born in Halifax, West Yorkshire singer-bard, who last 12-month won a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the tearjerker called A Beautiful Game, from the season three finale of the Apple TV+ 2020 American sports comedy-drama television series — Ted Lasso; is further shaped by super record producers, vocalist-composers, as well as musicians.
Leaning into the elating shrill unsoiled triad and its personality are: Ilya Salmanzadeh an Iranian-born Swedish artist known on-stage as Ilya, Northern Irish artist Johnny McDaid, Savan Harish Kotecha from America, famed by the moniker Fred Again — English multi-instrumentalist as well as Disc Jockey — Frederick John Philip Gibson, and Elvira Anderfjärd a Swedish artist.
Strong on the carry, Sheeran — one of the world’s best-selling consonance aria composition artists — with 200 million records sold; gave a rundown on the far from being fatigued lilt bomb — ‘Don’t Look Down’ — on which he joined forces with Hanumankind, Dhee as well as Santhosh Narayanan.
“I ‘loooove’ Hanumankind and got the opportunity to meet him at Coachella and catch his show. I was obsessed with the energy and feel of it all. We connected then and we have since been speaking about working together, then this idea came up. Santhosh is one of the greatest film composers and introduced me to Dhee who is such an amazing talent and voice. I wanted to represent South India on this EP and the beautiful Tamil language, and they have done such an amazing job in fusing it together,” says Ed Sheeran.
Play — The Remixes EP was born out of the Azizam lullaby assassin’s transformative, month-long stay in India, where he immersed himself in the country’s rich musical landscape while recording Play: the full-bodied berceuse arpeggios.
During this time, he would discover as well as connect with many of the EP’s collaborators through the artists he was working with — among them Arijit Singh, with whom Sheeran teamed up with on the half-a-billion-streaming global smacker: Sapphire — “Everyone already knows the story to this but going to Jiaganj Azamp-imganj with my dad to create this with Arijit is one of my favourite memories in my musical career.”
Ed previously hinted at the EP, which boasts a wealth of songwriters, during an interview with English radio presenter as well as broadcaster Nikita Kanda on BBC Asian Network. The likes of Johnny McDaid, Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Ikwinder Sahota as well as Jaskaran Singh Aujla, all put pen to paper; thereupon, breathing life into the drudgery of tonal pattern certainly so, titled Play — The Remixes EP.
Above and beyond Ed Sheeran, in their capacity as extra powered librettists — Fred Gibson (English), Elvira Anderfjärd (Swedish), Sooraj Cherukat (Indian), Dheekshitha Venkadeshan (Australian), Santhosh Narayanan (Indian), as well as Jonita Gandhi (Canadian); have all had a hand in putting blood in the veins of what started as a skeleton of an opus sculpt, today so-called Play — The Remixes EP: in the flesh!
The resulting hatch is a vivacious synthesis of universal sounds as well as artistic exchange; a borderless fête of global creativity that sees Sheeran sharing spaces as well as voices in the spirit of collaboration. Similarly making writing credits on the non-too-lacking little bit of punch offering, are Indian blues godheads as well as soul-stirring wordsmiths: Mayur Puri, Arijit Singh, Avinash Chouhan, Harjot Kaur, Shayra Apoorva, Rutvik Talashilkar, as well as Adiya Ravindra.
Definitely, Ed works firmer as well as wiliest! The proof being in the pudding, the Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, as well as Billboard Music Awards multi-winner shared his sentiments about — Heaven — a beaming joint featuring Jonita.
“I met Jonita in 2024 when I played in Mumbai, and then got to do some shows with her the following year when I came back for tour. In short, I’m a fan. I love her voice, the tone, the softness. This was the perfect tune for us to do together and it’s also the first Hindi song I have released. It’s an honour to do it with her — what a talent,” says Ed Sheeran.
*Grant Notho Khumalo (formerly Grant Moyo) is a prolific writer, innovative media personality, entrepreneur and a creative artist who is passionate about using his creative mind for the betterment of society. Follow him on X: @TotemGrant