The rising face behind absolute belters: Fred again..?

British DJ’s London boiler room set went live and now the world can't get enough.

Fred again…?, born Fred John Philip Gibson has long produced behind the scenes for mainstream artists including Skrillex, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Eminem, and Halsey.

He co-wrote one of the biggest records in 2019, Shotgun by George Ezra and won producer of the year at the Brit Awards in 2020.

But it wasn't until he began a project titled Actual Life in 2019 that he returned to creating his own music again by collecting snippets of real-life conversations and sounds and transforming them into original tracks.

Apple Music interview host and long-time international record producer Zane Lowe says, “Fred builds strong relationships with the people he works with, even his songs are predominantly named after the people he works with or the people who inspire them.

There's a lot of interactivity with the human experience and hoax that come from conversations.”

Two tracks that started trending online after his boiler room set in London, Turn on the lights again.. (feat. Future) and Danielle (smile on my face) has over 66 million streams on Spotify.

Fred’s talents prelude beyond just musical skill when you see him playing in front of crowds.

His stage presence, flair and audience engagement are just as remarkable.

“When I'm in front of a large crowd, everything in a weird way slows down,

I distance myself from the crowd and ‘hummingbird’ everyone,” Fred says.

Comparing playing in front of a crowd to watching a hummingbird buzz around and then turning that slow-mo, where you can see the intricate details of the hummingbird's movements.

Fred’s production process is also vastly different to other modern-day artists as he prefers to take his ‘studio’ with him everywhere - his laptop.

“I make the most of my ideas out in the world watching people, I watch a guy ride past on a skateboard and decide that the base is not hitting the way I want it to,” he says.

Fred’s environment plays a huge role in his work, he de-codes the raw moments of human life and transforms them into a pattern of sound so people can also experience those same emotions.

“I became obsessed with taking fleeting moments and exposing as much beauty from them as I can like when you watch a video and then rewatch it in slo-mo, there's a whole new emotional framing.”

Fred’s 782k followers and sold-out tours all across the world show the huge impact he has had on his listeners in just over a year.

“Fred is a literal genius and is completely changing the music scene… he’s something special.” - Rob Sawyer, Fredagain listener.

“This man is a worldly treasure. How lucky are we to live at the same time as him and his music? Went from not knowing who he was 2 months ago to listening to him for at least a half hour a day every day since the boiler room set went live.” - Ross Gordon, Fredagain listener.

Fred…again is a name the house and techno industry should keep an eye out for on the charts in the upcoming months.

“The music started off for me and I've been enormously changed by the way people have let the music in. It’s totally changed me and I'm immeasurably grateful for it,” Fred says.

Watch the full interview here