On Thursday (May 1), Ed Sheeran revealed details about his upcoming eighth album, Play, a 13-track record that is set to be released on September 12 through Gingerbread Records/Atlantic Records. Along with the album announcement, Sheeran also dropped his new single, “Old Phone,” a nostalgic track co-produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh and Blake Slatkin. In an Instagram post announcing his new album and single, Sheeran shared some insight into the making of his new record, which he calls “a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish.” “Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” he shared. “Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring. I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life.” (Variety)