Ed Sheeran has released ‘Azizam’, the first advance of his next album, ‘Play’. ‘Azizam’ is a tribute to the Persian culture created with the Swedish producer-Iraní Ilya Salmanzadeh, and is also the fiance of Sheeran to the “mass pop.”
In ‘Azizam’ traditional Iranian instruments sound like the Ghatam, the DAF, the saint or the lute, all of them contributing Persian nuances to the recording, which is bubblegum first of all, starting with its chorus sung to choir, catchy, but that is not the best chorus of the day.
Sheeran was not going to play it with cultural appropriation and ‘Azizam’ incorporates an Iranian musicians, apart from Ilya. In ‘Azizam’, Ganesh Murali touches the Ghatam, Jayesh Kathak the DAF and Ray El Santoor, the hammered sweet and the lute. In addition, Iranian stars Andy, Aash and Sash, in addition to Citizens of the World Choir, a choir composed of refugees.
Ironically, the instrumental wealth of ‘Azizam’ is not noticed so much in the final recording, which seeks to be a commercial “party track” above all. There are already those who will become a classic of Persian weddings, but Ilya and Savan Kotecha – among others – does not sign their most inspired and imaginative production.
‘Azizam’, by the way, means “dear” in Farsi and Sheeran dedicates the song to his wife and mother of his two children, Cherry Seaborn. ‘Azizam’ also keeps a personal meaning for Ilya: “growing in Sweden I have always felt that I had to reduce parts of my identity to integrate, but I have always been proud of my roots,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_48vyhwls4
