Entertainment

Music Scene: ÷ Shaping up to be a case of Divide and conquer for Ed Sheeran

My dad's dad is from Belfast, says Ed Sheeran, so it's a sort of second home
My dad's dad is from Belfast, says Ed Sheeran, so it's a sort of second home My dad's dad is from Belfast, says Ed Sheeran, so it's a sort of second home

ED SHEERAN returns with not one but two new songs that welcome one of the UK's most loved recording artists back into focus. Shape of You and Castle On The Hill are both highly melodic, catchy pop songs that bear the Sheeran hallmarks such as the fancy fretwork and machine-gun vocal delivery. Ed tells me that he stumbled across an almost Caribbean sound with Shape of You.

“It's funny, you know – I didn't intend for the song to turn out that way and it does definitely have a sort of Caribbean feel I think when you use a marimba on a track, when you use that particular instrument it's difficult for it not have that kind of vibe. I'm really happy with it, though, and the way it evolved"

Castle On The Hill has a more rocky persona and I put it to Ed that there is in my mind a fairly strong nod to U2 in the song's sound and structure.

“First of all, thank you for that. Again it wasn't really my intention. I actually wanted to go for a more Bruce Springsteen The River type feel so it's interesting that you're picking up a U2 flavour off it. I've never really been heavily influenced by U2 but I think it's particularly interesting because I am influenced by Coldplay and Snow Patrol, and they in turn are heavily influenced by U2 so I guess it makes sense somewhere along the way.”

Sheeran’s new record, Divide (written as ÷) – which, as he disclosed this week, local trad band Beoga had a hand in – will be available to download on March 3 and contains 12 new songs. (Antrim-based five piece Beoga joined Sheeran at his recording studios in Suffolk last June to record two tracks.) In order to give himself some space and the opportunity to fine tune the material, the artist took a little boat trip.

“I went on a cruise ship, just to sort of lock myself away and get my head around the way I wanted the songs to finally sound. There were some guitar parts that needed worked on and put to bed and there were maybe some lyrical changes here and there. I took the cruise ship from New York to Southampton. It was very productive and a very good idea in the end.”

The delivery of the first two new songs in advance was important for Ed – very often these days an artist or a band will internet release their entire album in one hit but Sheeran seems to have a more classic approach to the arrival of new music.

“I'm not really into that thing of dropping a whole album in one go. I mean it's something I may do in the future, I don't know, but I'd much rather drip feed a new single or two and then follow up with the album and get people to experience it then as a whole. I think that works better – it does for me anyway with artists that I like.”

With his next tour dates about to be announced, I enquire about Belfast being included on that schedule. His shows have always sold out fast in the north and he is obviously aware of the almost 'home crowd' reception he would receive but will he bring his Martin and Loudon guitars in this direction anytime soon?

Ed is confident that that will be the case.

“Yeah, there will be a live show in Belfast this year, maybe more than one. I love coming over there, Northern Ireland is such a beautiful country and I do spend quite a bit of time there. It has sort of become my second home."

I ask if he can be bumped into on a regular basis hanging out in Belfast bars? Maybe strolling round Cathedral Quarter of an evening?

“You could easily bump into me in Belfast on a night out, yeah. Funny, I bumped into one of my old mates who is mentioned in the lyrics in Castle On The Hill, recently on a night out there. I nipped out for a smoke and he came walking up the street out of the blue. So if I can bump into an old friend like that in Belfast, fans could easily do that with me. As for Cathedral Quarter, yes probably round there, usually with one of the members of Snow Patrol."

Apart from his love for Northern Ireland as a visitor, it turns out Ed has a deeper-rooted reason to be attached to our corner of the world.

“My dad's dad came from Belfast. So I have a lot of Northern Ireland in me – and I have a lot of Bushmills in me as well!"

:: Shape of You and Castle on the Hill are out now.