Maps of Music

Autumn Variations (2023)

Where the lyrics of Autumn Variations take you, and where it was really made.

Sheeran took the album's idea from Elgar's Enigma Variations after his dad and brother told him about the piece.

Key places

Gingerbread, London (2023)

Recording site Gingerbread — The album's recording credits list Gingerbread in London as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Narwhal, Chicago (2023)

Recording site Narwhal — The album's recording credits list Narwhal in Chicago as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Dwelling, New York (2023)

Recording site The Dwelling — The album's recording credits list The Dwelling in New York as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Treehouse, Suffolk (2023)

Recording site Treehouse — The album's recording credits list Treehouse in Suffolk as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sonic Ranch, El Paso (2023)

Recording site Sonic Ranch — The album's recording credits list Sonic Ranch in El Paso as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Smilo, Orcas Island (2023)

Recording site Smilo — The album's recording credits list Smilo on Orcas Island as a place where it was recorded; the point is placed at the island's city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Schoolhouse, Gansevoort (2023)

Recording site The Schoolhouse — The album's recording credits list The Schoolhouse in Gansevoort as a place where it was recorded; the point is placed at the town centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Autumn Variations: seventh studio album by Ed Sheeran
• Released 29 September 2023 on his own label, Gingerbread Man Records
• All tracks produced solely by Aaron Dessner, except "Spring", co-produced with his twin brother Bryce
• Second project of 2023, following his previous album released in May
• First studio album Sheeran owns the copyright of

Background

• Announced 24 August 2023 on social media
• Inspired by Elgar's Enigma Variations, whose 14 pieces each portray a different friend of the composer
• Sheeran's dad and brother told him about the composer, and the idea followed his friends' life changes the previous autumn
• Its first release independent of a major label, on his own Gingerbread Man Records
• No singles or music videos were released to promote it
• "American Town" was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio on the release day
• Fan Living Room Sessions edition released 2 October 2023, each song recorded live in a different fan's living room

Recording

• Recording locations listed: Gingerbread (London), Narwhal (Chicago), The Dwelling (New York), Treehouse (Suffolk), Sonic Ranch (El Paso), Smilo (Orcas Island), The Schoolhouse (Gansevoort)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Edward Christopher Sheeran was born on 17 February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk.
• He began writing songs around the age of eleven and learned guitar at that age.
• He studied at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford before leaving to support Just Jack.
• He released the EP No.5 Collaborations Project independently in January 2011 and signed with Asylum Records the same year.

Career

• His debut album + (2011) topped the UK Albums Chart and featured the hit "The A Team".
• × (2014) won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year and was the second-best-selling album worldwide of 2015.
• ÷ (2017) became the best-selling album worldwide of 2017, and he was named Global Recording Artist of the Year by the IFPI.
• He has sold 200 million records worldwide and has won four Grammy Awards.
• He founded the label Gingerbread Man Records and released albums including = (2021), − (2023) and Play (2025).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Received mixed reviews from music critics
• The Telegraph's James Hall gave five out of five stars, calling it meatier and more varied than the previous album
• NME's Thomas Smith said the nuance of the last album's songwriting is largely absent, likening the record to aimless scrolling
• The Guardian's Rachel Aroesti called it unimaginative and intellectually bereft, citing dashed-off lyrics
• The Independent's Helen Brown said Sheeran stays in the busker-and-beats style, in a mellow, misty-eyed mode

Reappraisal

• Metacritic: 62 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating generally favorable reception
• Topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands

Records

• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number one, Sheeran's seventh UK number one
• UK first week: 30,016 units (16,027 CD, 6,121 vinyl, 2,188 digital downloads, 5,680 sales-equivalent streams)
• UK: top 10 for two weeks, left the top 40 in the third week
• US Billboard 200: debuted at number four with 62,000 album-equivalent units, 46,500 of them pure sales
• US: highest debut of the week and best-selling album of the week in pure sales
• US: Sheeran's seventh top-ten album on the Billboard 200 and second in 2023
• US: physical sales 33,500, including 16,000 vinyl, his largest vinyl week ever
• US: fourth number-one on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart
• US: fell to number 96 in the second week, then exited the chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was first released as a fan-facing edition: the Fan Living Room Sessions edition includes live versions of all 14 tracks.
• Sheeran performed the entire album at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 18 and 19 November 2023.
• Sheeran announced the album on social media on 24 August 2023, quoting his family's suggestion of Elgar's Enigma Variations as the spark.
• Sheeran said no singles or music videos would be released to promote the album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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