Originally published at phaser.com There is a unique quality that only the upper, upper echelon of artists ever have. I’m not talking about the way their melodies are strung together, the way their charisma shines through on the track, or the way their lyrics shake you to your core. Of course, these are qualities that great artists possess. But only a handful of artists reach a point in their career where you don’t listen to see if the album or single is any good. You know it’s going to be good, so you just relax, and enjoy it. Surprisingly, not many of today’s musical icons seem to possess this quality. Drake, who keeps breaking record after record after record, even ones held by The Beatles, still brings out an album to hesitant ears. ‘Will it be as good as the last one?’, they ask. The same is true of Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Post Malone - most of today’s musical heavyweights still turn up with a sense of something to prove. Ed Sheeran literally has nothing to prove. Every album he’s ever brought out has been a smash hit, and every single he drops is draped with a VIP pass to Number One before anyone’s even listened to it. A significant number of your favourite songs were probably written by him, with his writing credits stretching all the way from The Weeknd to One Direction via Justin Bieber. And what’s more, he seems like the nicest guy to set foot in the music industry. He recently announced his upcoming No.6 Collaborations Project, following on from the No.5 that he released before he’d even been signed to a label. The two lead singles feature Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock, and are - surprise surprise - currently sitting on top of the charts. Like I said, Ed Sheeran is one of those artists you can’t help but sit back and appreciate. He said he had a bucket list of artists he really wanted to work with, so that’s what he’s going to do. And why not? He’s one of the most successful artists of all time, so why not tick off those collaborations he’s been wishing for. What do you have left to strive for when you’re the best? In Ed Sheeran’s book, it’s to simply enjoy yourself.  This album should definitely be regarded as a complete love project, with Ed simply following his heart and working with the people he genuinely wants to work with, and not just names on a list handed to him by his record label. However, while we shouldn’t overanalyse it, it could also end up being one of his most interesting albums yet. The only slight criticism that people can possibly muster against Halifax’s most prized export, is that his music is at times a little derivative. Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock are certainly not features we could ever expect on a ‘standard’ Ed Sheeran album, so maybe this is his way of answering that final question as to how versatile he really is? To be honest, I really don’t think this has crossed his mind. No.6 looks set to simply be a fun, eclectic journey through a whole host of musical styles and genres, one that is enjoyed just as much by the artist as it is by the listener. Who can we expect on the guest-list? Ed has made no secret of his love for Hip Hop, with the ‘favourite song’ referenced in the go-to wedding track of this generation, ‘Perfect’, being revealed to be Future’s hard-hitting gangster anthem ‘March Madness’. He also worked with Future on Taylor Swift’s ‘End Game’, so an appearance from the Atlanta rapper can perhaps be presumed. Travis Scott is almost certainly on there too, with a collaboration between Scott and Sheeran leaking earlier this year, and judging by the lyrics, seems to be Track 7 on the project, called ‘Antisocial’. There will undoubtedly be some curveballs thrown at us, but all the more reason to look forward to No. 6’s release. This is a guy at the peak of his powers, nothing to prove, and just enjoying the artistic freedom his success has brought about. Is there any pressure on Ed Sheeran to deliver us another blockbusting, record-breaking smash hit of an album? 100% not. But are we expecting one? Absolutely. No. 6 Collaborations Project is out on July 12th, and is available to Pre-Add on all streaming platforms now. Maxim Mower
0 Comments
 So the jury is still out after my first attempt at being a psychic. One of my predictions was given hope recently when Quavo admitted the Migos have a huge store of Drake collaborations, which could eventually form an album. Wahoo! I can now profess myself to be the next Mystic Meg - I’ll call myself Mystic Max.
Well, you’re probably thinking one out of three predictions is not really enough to warrant a second round of trying to guess what will happen in the music industry. And lets be honest, it’s more like 0.5 out of three, if that. I should’ve just stuck with predicting that Travis will offer me a record deal, the only real dead cert. Nonetheless, I’m back behind my proverbial crystal ball, and I’m looking at some potential new Hip Hop releases. In this day and age, the beauty of pre-ordering and pre-adding albums means there is little in the form of surprise releases in the pop world. For some reason, though, it is often the case that you wake up on New Music Friday to an unexpected Lil Yachty mixtape, and maybe a couple more Future albums that he recorded in one evening. It is perhaps because of the breakneck pace at which new Hip Hop music is packaged and produced that we get so many surprise drops from this genre. I can imagine Atlantic’s PR department pulling their hair out when Gucci Mane keeps popping up in their office with a new album, having only just started promo for his previous one. But in many ways it must be a bonus having the ability to flood the market, especially in this era of dipping your toes into the stream of a track, and then before you know it they’ve disappeared and a different set of songs are flowing past. I guess Heraclitus got it right when he said, ‘You can’t stand in the same river twice’. As I see that I’ve just listened to the same Travis Scott song three times in a row, I realise that perhaps I should leave the philosophy to my weekly essays. Anyway, I think I’ve procrastinated enough (again, I should leave that to my essays). It’s time for my predictions as to who will be releasing new fire this week. Or this month. Or this year. Is it too vague to say at some point in the rest of their career…? 1. Big Sean The Detroit MC has been oddly quiet over the past year, enjoying the spoils of his successful I Decided. album (which I reviewed on my old blog). But photos of him in the studio with Hit-Boy hint at an imminent return to the fore, and over the past week I’ve had a sudden urge to stream a load of his best songs on Apple Music. Coincidence? Um, most definitely. However, something still tells me he’s dropping something soon… 2. Young Thug Why would Thugger drop a project so soon after his On The Run EP, which only came out a couple of months ago? Well, Young Thug has a work ethic that more than matches that of his trap counterpart, Future, and judging from the way the stars have been arranging themselves recently, and the astronomical calculations I have made from this, I think Young Thug is preparing some new music for us. Ok, ok, I’ll admit it’s just a hunch. But watch this space - no solar system-based pun intended... 3. Zac Brown Band So this is more of a wish than a prediction. Zac Brown Band is one of my favourite artists, and having recently announced a summer tour (which sadly does not involve a trip to the UK, ugh), I feel like they must surely have a single or two up their sleeves to help promote it. They must do, right? Right?? Considering they usually tour off the back of an album, and this one is called ‘The Owl’ tour, maybe we can expect a new project of the same name? Hopefully… So while I spend the next few weeks waiting on the Migos and Drake collaboration, as well as that inevitable phone call from Travis' Cactus Jack Records, I'll be frantically refreshing the 'New Music' section of Apple Music, to see if any of these predictions prove to be more fruitful than the last batch. Fingers crossed, and excuses at the ready... Yours sincerely, but not too seriously, Maxim Mower |
AuthorHello! I'm currently studying Philosophy & Theology at Oxford University, UK. Having always loved writing and music in equal measure, and having always hated decision-making, I figured hey, why do I need to choose between the two? Archives
May 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed