The musical revelation that is Fred again..

There have only been a few times I've been blown off my feet by an artist.

DJ Dog announcement by Keith Haring (1991)

No. 113: The musical revelation that is Fred again..

Let’s preface this by saying that house and electronic music has never been very big in the United States. The reasons are unclear and would make for good music documentary, especially since the genre was created by musicians in and around Detroit and Chicago. Still, the American sensibility tends to reject a dancey beat unless intoxicated at three in the morning at a rooftop bar. Why?

Some of it, I get. The repetitive thump of a house baseline can be almost embarrassing. The intensity is too much. Images of sweaty fist pumpers come to mind, which is gross. House music, in a word, is often overbearing. 

But not always. 

Problem is, you have to go searching to get to the stuff that transcends bare naked thumps, and without a clear starting point? Searching can be tough. For most, then, electronic music is that weird ass Cotton Eye Joe song, maybe some Daft Punk in the best case. But as you dig deeper, there’s a lot to be found.

My early interest in the genre came from the electronic influences that were seeping regularly into the music of artists I — and many others — enjoy but that elude the “house” or “electronic” category. Also, I’ve always found synth-made sounds incredibly interesting, dynamic, and pleasurable, and the took on a whole new meaning when I became an Animal Collective power listener.

So I caffeinated up and went bumbling curiously into the world of electronica. What I found was a Pandora’s box. To this day, I’ve only scratched the surface.

But this isn’t a newsletter about house music in general. It’s about one artist that has impacted me to such an extent I’m writing about him now. 

That artist is Fred again.., (the two periods are part of his artist name). 

Of the many musical artists I’ve encountered in my 28 years, there have only been a few that have knocked me off my feet.

That being the case, I remember them well, and in order.

There was Green Day, Sublime, Animal Collective, Blood Orange.

And lately, there’s Fred again…

The London-based artist and once-protege of Brian Eno has a way with emotive, escapist, soul-enriching sounds. His music doesn’t make you want to dance so much as pour your entire heart out, and if that happens to occur on a dance floor? So be it. In a recent interview, he described his artistic approach as an attempt to lengthen ephemeral feelings like sudden joy, the flutter of new love, fleeting happiness. In my humble opinion, he achieves this, and that’s something to note, circle a few times, and underline.

Fact is, house and electronic music isn’t for everyone. To each their own. It’s not even my favorite genre, per se, but that’s because I have no favorites. But I wonder if this week you’ll allow me to introduce you to an artist that has come to mean a lot to me. You may hate it or love it. But try it. Below I’ve listed a short list of some of my favorite Fred again.. songs (links go to Soundcloud), and this only from the three albums I’ve listened to thus far. 

• Danielle (smile on my face)

• Dermot (see yourself in my eyes)

• Julia (deep diving)

• Roze (forgive)

• Me (heavy)

That said, forgive me for the short post this week. I’m still here in California visiting my family and friends and haven’t been able to find much quiet time. Could I have etched it out? Maybe. But I’m trying to spend time with the people I don’t get to see as much having moved last year to Chicagoland.

To close the loop, that’s something I think Fred again.. would appreciate. Most of his songs are titled after the people he loves and appreciates. It’s only right, then, that the title of this piece includes his name. ♦

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Weekly Three

HEAR: See the above track list.

READ: Kurt Vonnegut’s short paragraph about buying an envelope.

VIEW: Next time I come to California, I want to take Amtrak’s California Zephyr. I imagine I’d get a lot of work done living on a train for three days.