How Fred Again.. transforms the sounds of social media into rave-worthy beauty

Although electronic songwriter and producer Fred again.., born Fred Gibson, has long-produced for a range of big-name artists, from Stormzy to Ed Sheeran to FKA twigs, his solo career blew up at a time when club music was at its least popular: during the pandemic. The 29-year-old British hitmaker released the first album off his Actual Life trilogy, Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020), in April 2021, and found success in creating hard-hitting dance tracks that sample from everyday moments — ranging from self-shot videos to voice memos from friends and clips found scrolling through Instagram. Gibson's hit, "Marea (we've lost dancing)," from Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020), deconstructs a monologue from the DJ The Blessed Madonna, where she mourns the pandemic's impact on the dance music industry. It ends in a message of hope — acting as a rallying cry for the present's shortcomings and the future's untapped potential.

By using these clips, Gibson gave, the final installment of Gibson's series released in October, is no different. At the core of Gibson's music lies the question: what happens when a search for escapism and real life meet? The result is a collage of digitally documented memories, as Gibson wholeheartedly embraces misconceptions and judgments about how easy it is for people to make electronic music, by turning mundane sounds into musical material.