Ed Sheeran Discusses His Musical Evolution

Ed Sheeran recently released his second full-length album X, a collection of folky tunes the singer believes positively reflects his musical evolution.

Although some might say you shouldn’t mess around too much with a winning formula, apparently Sheeran isn’t the type of chap to drop the same record over and over again. Instead of resting on his laurels and sticking to what he knows, Ed decided to experiment a bit with his sound. This included working alongside acclaimed producer Pharrell Williams on the impossibly catchy earworm “Sing.”

According to The Malay Mail Online, Sheeran believes that musicians — and everyone, for that matter — can always strive to make their work stronger. The acclaimed songwriter injected this mentality into the tunes he recorded for X. Judging from the album’s success, it would seem his gamble paid off. Big time.

Ed Sheeran recently told MTV:

“I think you do have to continue to improve yourself. [‘Sing’] felt like the furthest away of anything I have ever done, and I would prefer to be talked about than not talked about and sticking out a song that makes everyone go ‘huh?’ I think is more interesting than sticking out a song that makes everyone go ‘ah yeah, he’s back yeah cool’. Do something that really rocks the boat a little bit and I think it’s a good song.”

The singer continued:

“I think it was very easy to improve on the first album. I think it was a great stepping stone, it opened all the doors it need to, and I would say there are some songs on that album that I would put on this album. But I’ve evolved as a musician, my tastes are different and my experiences have changed, and for me it was quite easy to improve on it.”

Although Sheeran clearly enjoys branching out into different musical directions, he’s always a little hesitant to discuss his work in detail. When the folks over at the Daily Mail tried to get him to spill the beans about some of his tunes, Sheeran stopped short of giving the publication anything juicy.

Sheeran said:

“The best songs come from the heart, you don’t want to take the rawness and honesty out of them. If it was a bad song I’d probably be like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,’ but regardless of any back story, I think it’s a good song and that’s why it’s on the album.”

Do you think Ed Sheeran’s musical evolution is for the better? Did you enjoy Ed’s sophomore album as much as his debut?

[Lead image via Bing]