Fred Again

Fred Again, born Frederick John Philip Gibson in 1993, spent years as the hitmaker in the background before stepping into the light himself. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Clean Bandit, had his name on 30% of the UK's number-one singles in 2019, and became the youngest winner of Producer of the Year at the Brit Awards in 2020.

His own records are something stranger and more intimate. The Actual Life series works like a collaborative diary, building house and UK garage tracks around real-world recordings and voice memos, snatches of other people's lives looped until they turn euphoric. Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) is the peak so far: "Delilah (Pull Me Out of This)" and "Danielle (Smile on My Face)" are the proof, dance music that feels like it's about to cry. That album was up for the Mercury Prize and won the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album, while "Rumble", with Skrillex and Flowdan, took Best Dance/Electronic Recording, and he was nominated for Best New Artist too. "Jungle", from Las Ruinas, is the rowdier cousin.

He has since made the ambient album Secret Life with Brian Eno, headlined Coachella and Reading and Leeds, and gone back to back behind the decks with Thomas Bangalter, formerly of Daft Punk.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.