Ed Sheeran recently shared a Persian-influenced new single, "Azizam," produced by Illya Salmanzadeh.
"Azizam" means "my dear" or "my darling" in Farsi, and the track incorporates instruments like the ghatam, a clay pot commonly used as percussion in Southern India, and the santur, a hammered dulcimer of Iranian origin.
"Now the song's finished, and it's out, I'm discovering more and more every single day that Persians are really, really proud of their culture, and it's great to celebrate it," Sheeran told BBC Radio 1.
Sheeran, who debuted "Azizam" on the streets of New Orleans during a surprise performance in the city's French quarter, accompanied by the Soul Rebels brass band, said creating the song was "a hell of a lot of fun."
"I loved how a lot of rhythms, scales, melodies and instruments were different but similar to the Irish trad music I had grown up with," he added.
The inspiration for the song came from Salmanzadeh, an Iranian-born Swedish songwriter.
"One day he was just like, 'I would love to make something within the culture that I come from' and that's how it was sparked," Sheeran told Radio 1's Greg James. "It's [become] the first single of an album that is super playful and celebratory."
The recorded version also includes background vocals from the Citizens of the World Choir, which is made up of refugees and allies.
The song is the first track from Sheeran's eighth studio album, which is due out later this year.
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