Ed Sheeran releases Autumn Variations

Ed Sheeran has released the first of his seasonal albums, 'Autumn Variations'.

Ed Sheeran says his new album 'Autumn Variations' is intended to feel like a "warm hug" this autumn.

The 32-year-old pop star has shared his cosy record without any singles or videos as it's "purely" for his fans and not intended for commercial gain.

He explained on Instagram: "So Autumn Variations is out now ! This is an album purely for you, the fans. There’s no singles, no videos, it’s on my own label, so no pressure for anything. I just want you guys to have a soundtrack for autumn/fall that feels like a warm hug. I hope you love it. Lemme know what your fav songs are and il see some of you this week at random pop ups we are doing. Love you all (sic)"

The 14-track record was inspired by the composer Edward Elgar's format for his most famous work, 'Enigma Variations'.

Announcing the record, Ed explained: “Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded.”

“When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on, and when I learned about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.”

“My dad and brother told me about a composer called Elgar, who composed ‘Enigma Variations’, where each of the 14 compositions were about a different one of his friends. This is what inspired me to make this album. When I recorded Subtract with Aaron Dessner, we clicked immediately. We wrote and recorded non-stop and this album was born out of that partnership. I feel he has captured the feeling of autumn so wonderfully in his sonics and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.”

The Grammy winner once again worked with pal Taylor Swift's collaborator, Aaron Dessner of The National, who heaped praise on Ed for the way he "captured the feeling of autumn so wonderfully".

They first worked together on Ed's 'Subtract' LP, which was only released in May this year.

Ed is set to release an album for each of the seasons as he did for his mathematical series - but has a big "pop album" on the way before he follows up 'Autumn Variations'.

The prolific star also recently revealed he has a live version of ‘Autumn Variations' recorded at fans' houses on the way.

And he's just shared a live video of him performing the album's track 'American Town' sitting beside a railway track on YouTube to coincide with the release of ‘Autumn Variations’, out now.