Fred Again’s Actual Life 3 is the third instalment in a series of albums by London producer Fred Gibson (whose stage name is stylised as Fred again..). His production and songwriting credits feature an impressive list of UK chart-toppers, including George Ezra’s “Shotgun”, Stormzy’s “Own It” and several number one hits for Ed Sheeran. In 2020, when he was 26, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Brit award for best producer.
His production work takes place in the highly regimented world of the song factory, an assembly line of hooks, pre-choruses and topline melodies. His own music, however, occupies a different space. He was inspired to pursue it by his mentor Brian Eno, whom he met as a teenager through a family friend. It is emotive and textured, a well-crafted bricolage of dance beats, sampled vocals and recordings of people talking, captured on the hoof by Gibson as voice memos on his phone. Like a diary, the albums are subtitled by the dates when they were recorded.
The first two Actual Life albums came out in 2021 and evoked a Covid-era atmosphere of loss and consolation. A catchphrase uttered by an Atlanta construction worker called Carlos whom Gibson met in the US summed up the direction of emotional traffic: “We gon’ make it through”. The third one continues with the same urge for comfort and warmth, although this time the tempo is livelier, as though the destination is closer at hand.
“Eyelar (shutters)” opens with a blast of carnival horns and the stuttered, ghostly sound of a woman singing the words “You make it better”. Other voices emerge alongside hers, accompanied by yearning melodies and a pulsing beat. “Pull me out of this,” a singer repeats on “Delilah (pull me out of this)” as house music accelerates around her. “Clara (the night is dark)” opens with a gospel singer and resonant piano chords, like a Moby track, before smoothly turning into euphoric dance music reminiscent of Bicep.
The emotional palette has a mushy quality: it could do with darker contrasts. But the songs’ sentimentality is appealingly framed. It plays on our heartstrings without cynicism or grabbiness.
★★★☆☆
‘Actual Life 3 (January 1-September 9 2022)’ is released by Atlantic
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