The buzzing-friendly multi-instrumental producer/singer/DJ made his 2023 Los Angeles premiere over the weekend. As a rarity for a first-time artist to arrive to LA with eight consecutive soldout dates at the Shrine, we had a chance to check out what the buzz was all about. As a convenient location near to USC – the majority of the crowd were of Gen-Z (Halloween costumes were a plus) during the show. As the show began with “Kyle (I Found You),” the production set was an added bonus to the 100-year plus venue. Reminiscent of a Kanye West show with an overhead colored lighting, Fred Again (real name – Frederick Gibson) showed his whole repetoire of his musical talent that goes beyond the EDM genre.
It was evident from the in-between song videos that his music tastes included hip-hop and rap. And not to mention of his passion to sample some of his current songs from these video voice-overs. One of his tune “Baby Again..” was a direct sample from producer Wheezy’s 2019 tune “Baby.” During the show, the rawness of putting out these sketch story videos was a huge-plus to showcase his ‘Actual Life’ trilogy albums. From the onset of 2020 and up to now – the storytelling was well-documented to showcase what the 30-year artist went through in his hometown in the UK.
It’s not hard to see his facial motions bringing a joyful white light to the entire crowd and throughout his hour-and-half set. Towards the end of 2020, he released the first ‘Actual Life’ compilation. With songs including “Marnie (Wish I Had U)” and “Kyle (I Found You)” becoming more popular on social media, he then released his second and third albums, both respectively called, Actual Life 2 and Actual Life 3, in 2021 and 2022. The atmosphere on the stage – reminiscent of UK-group Above & Beyond when it comes to their communication to the audience.
A unique stage setup – there were four gigantic LED panels hovering above at the ceiling of the venue. All of them were arranged and lined up above center of the crowd area. A special spectacular to add to the audience below – seeing airplanes or a reflection of themselves. About 30 minutes into the set – Fred decided to come down from the stage and change locations to his secondary stage (at the center of crowds) and continues the set with “Rumble” (Skrillex-collab song) and adding some impromptu “drum and bass” tunes.
He continued to play his popular tunes, including “Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing),” “Lights Out,” and “Turn On The Lights Again.” And to end it with “Delilah (Pull Me Out of This),” Fred Again become a sensational star over the years with the help of social media including his YouTube channel. The majority of his tunes become overnight sensations with the help of capturing these moments – whether if it’s through FaceTime or selfie videos – the story was splendid and filled with joy and happiness.
As the rising star that has also played in soldout shows in New York including playing in this past year’s Coachella festival, he was also recently signed to UMPG on an exclusive worldwide deal this past month.
Photo Credit: Julian Bajsel