Sean Smith - Ed Sheeran

Ed went straight out and bought one, which cost roughly £250. Looping was not a technique you could learn overnight and it took him well over two years of constant practice to feel that he had finally mastered the pedal – he soon found that one mistake could throw a whole song out of synch. The new skill, however, did allow him to improve ‘We Are’ and turn it into a multi-layered ballad, recognisable as the one he would perform many times in the future.

Gary was happy to offer advice by phone or email and they remained on very good terms. It was a two-way street: Ed had videoed Gary’s gig at his house, chopped it into individual songs and put the entire thing on Gary’s Myspace page.

Ed was of the generation that appreciated the power of a good live video online. Gary observes, ‘I was ten years older and just didn’t understand at the time. He was so digital savvy and web savvy in a way that I wasn’t and I wasn’t really interested in. I remember him telling me, “You’ve got to get out there.” He kind of ran my Myspace for six months.’

Gary and Ed never composed together. He explains, ‘Our connection isn’t about songs. It’s about live looping. I suppose I passed on a craft to him, a way of making music. Of course, he has since evolved massively but the craft remains the same. He is just using it in a much more complex way than I ever did.

‘Looping is like playing a different instrument. It’s not just getting onstage with a guitar and singing a song. It’s getting onstage with your voice and your guitar and creating a sound. You are using a different canvas.’

Gary is proud of his part in Ed’s journey to global success: ‘When I sit in an audience of 80,000 people and I see Ed do his thing with an acoustic guitar and a loop station, I can hear a little DNA of where he and I connected. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.’

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