Ed Sheeran has released a live bonus version of his just-released seventh studio album, ‘Autumn Variations’.
Subtitled ‘(Fan Living Room Sessions)’, the bonus project features live renditions of each song on ‘Autumn Variations’, recorded and performed live from the homes of 14 of his fans.
A trailer for the bonus album shows snippets of Sheeran appearing at his listener’s homes, and is soundtracked by a live rendition of the ‘Autumn Variations’ track, ‘American Town’.
“I wanted to record a live version of Autumn Variations, but I wanted to do it in an original way,” Sheeran wrote on social media. “We did 14 houses over 2 days and it was such a fun way to meet fans but also record an entire live album.” The singer went on to thank fans for welcoming him despite giving “zero notice”.
Videos of Sheeran performing each song on ‘(Fan Living Room Sessions)’ premiered on YouTube yesterday (October 2). The at-home performances were recorded during the North American leg of his ‘Mathematics’ tour, which wrapped up in California late last month.
Sheeran first revealed plans for an at-home live version of ‘Autumn Variations’ last month. Around the same time, he shared a clip of himself gatecrashing a fans wedding in Las Vegas to perform the ‘Autumn Variations’ track ‘Magical’.
‘Autumn Variations’ arrived on September 29, and marked Sheeran’s first independent release on his own label, Gingerbread Man Records. Following the release, Sheeran revealed that the album rollout would not involve any singles or music videos to “take away the pressure.”
In a two-star review of ‘Autumn Variations’, NME said the album “isn’t a flying start to this next phase of [Sheeran’s] catalogue” and “is akin to aimlessly swiping through Instagram, blurry snaps of followers’ leafy happenings whizzing past in a distracted daze.”
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