Ed Sheeran is joined by a cast of all South Asian collaborators on his new EP, Play (The Remixes), out today.
The original album, released in September, was influenced by Sheeran’s month-long stay in India, where he first connected with Surrey, B.C.’s Karan Aujla and Toronto’s Jonita, as well as Hanumankind, Dhee, Santhosh Narayanan and Arijit Singh.
It wasn’t Sheeran’s first time in India and after a decade of touring, he says he’s “met lots of local artists” and was introduced to “all types of music and cultures.” With the Play EP he wanted to represent as much of those experiences as he could.
The remix EP features four standout tracks from the album, reimagined with new verses from the other musicians. The new version of Symmetry features Aujla, with Punjabi hip-hop verses that Sheeran joins in on in the latter half of the song.
WATCH | The music video for Ed Sheeran’s remix of Symmetry featuring Karan Aujla :
It seems this may be the beginning of a long musical partnership, as Sheeran alluded to in a press statement: “Karan is culture, and I love the movement he’s making with Ikky at the moment. It’s been so cool watching the thing he’s built and becoming a part of that world and journey.”
“[Karan] taught me the Punjabi parts on this song in the studio, and we got to shoot an amazing video for it,” he continued. “I feel like this is the beginning of our collaborative journey, and I’m so excited to create more.”
In 2024, Aujla was signed to 91 North Records, an imprint of Warner Music Canada spearheaded by producer Ikky to highlight the South Asian music boom in the country. Aujla’s recent album, P-Pop Culture, was the latest in a long line of co-productions between the two of them.
Jonita is another 91 North signee, and her addition to Sheeran’s remix EP is on Heaven. Her bright voice cuts through the melodic, downtempo love song as her Hindi verse comes in. On the second chorus, their voices delicately intermingle.
WATCH | The lyric video for Sheeran’s remix of Heaven with Jonita:
“The song, Heaven, is already so incredibly beautiful — it reminds me of the kind of love that’s pure, gentle and safe. I wanted my verse to carry that same innocence, that same fluttery warmth of love that doesn’t need to prove itself,” Jonita shared in an Instagram caption.
She met Sheeran in Mumbai in 2024, where she got a chance to share some of her music with him. In turn, he shared some songs that made it onto Play. “That day, I was blown away by how genuinely curious and appreciative he was of Indian music, instruments, and inflections … I remember thinking how intentional and sensitive he was about representing cultures outside his own.”
Sheeran had his own praise to share about Jonita in a press statement: “I love her voice, the tone, the softness. This was the perfect tune for us to do together and it’s also the first Hindi song I have released. It’s an honour to do it with her — what a talent.”
The remix EP is rounded out with two other songs, Sapphire featuring Arijit Singh and Don’t Look Down featuring Hanumankind, Dhee and Santhosh Narayanan.
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