At his only gig in Germany, the popular figure creates both a sense of community and goosebumps.
The British singer-songwriter, music producer and DJ Fred Again.. played his only concert in Germany this Tuesday (September 12th). A year ago, the musician performed on the stage of the UFO Velodrom in Berlin, and today he can be seen in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Advance sales, queues, nervous nerves. The concert tickets were sold out within a few minutes – not to say seconds. “It’s mental!” the Brit repeated himself several times that evening with his unmistakable accent. It sounds absurd, but he didn’t know how big the locatin was, says the popular figure. We were there at the only big party gig.
Musical diaries
The bright spotlights that had just illuminated the interior of the Mercedes-Benz Arena go out. The fog machine is running at full speed and making everything in front of your eyes more and more blurry. The attention of almost 17,000 people is focused on the stage, where two DJ consoles have been draped by a crew of several people. The audience in front of the stage cavorts and crowds ever closer together. Dressed mostly in black, sometimes the sleeve of a neon yellow top or a silver sequin skirt stands out from the crowd. Then the largest of the five screens switches on and reveals an indefinable image. A gentle melody sounds. Cheering, even though nothing happened (yet). The image moves quickly and jerkily, rotating – until a broadly grinning Fred Again looks into the camera.
The picture shows him still backstage. He carries the audience or the camera with him on the way to the stage. While other artists love the big performance, with Fred Again… you can share in his nervousness and excitement in this way. When he finally appears in person in front of the crowd, the crowd can hardly contain themselves.
The DJ constructs the sounds of the first song “Kyle (I found you)” at his desk. A screen behind him shows personal video clips. All upright and obviously filmed with a cell phone. All in 90s home video style – the musician’s trademark. Two seniors with sparklers in their hands, a woman dancing across the campsite and finally Kyle, who sings the lyrics and accompanies them with hand gestures: “I found you beautiful / I found you exploding / I found you”. Most of the time the clips seem unprofessional and makeshift, but that’s exactly what makes Fred Again… so relatable.
The screens then present the DJ again, who is beaming at the previously flickering videos. With every show he relives small but valuable moments of his life again and again. Again and again and again, as his merch shirt would say. Fred Again’s albums are his “musical diaries,” as the songwriter calls them. This is also reflected in the titles. LIFE ACTUAL is the name of his first three records, chronologically marked with the numbers from one to three and the time period in which they were created.
The Storyteller
Between the tracks, the likeable Brit likes to share one or two anecdotes. Like the song “adore you,” which the artist originally wrote for his little sister Georgie – and which he now dedicates to his newborn niece. As he lets out the first notes of the song, the creative mind tells the spectacular birth story of his new family member. In a nutshell: His brother’s wife was heavily pregnant, but still wanted to see Fred Again’s set at the Glastonbury Festival in England. While the musician was playing his show, his sister-in-law went into labor – presumably due to the vibrating bass – and made the three-hour journey back to London, where Fred’s niece was finally born. The image of a newborn immediately appears on the center screen of the stage. Fred Again.. sings the lyrics himself, which on the original version come from the Nigerian musician Obongjayar. His voice is very clear and full of emotion. The artist actually manages to stir the crowd in a non-cheesy way.
Live while creating songs
Fred Again.. finds the perfect balance between heartfelt songs and his dancing and jumping tracks. For “Jungle” and “Delilah (Pull Met Out of This),” the DJ makes his way through the audience to get to his second stage, in the middle of the standing area. The white field of light floating on the ceiling comes closer and closer to the artist. The movement illustrates the time that elapses until the beat drop.
It almost feels like a guessing game every time. The electro DJ creates a beat on his drum pad. You think which track is coming. But the more tones build on each other, you reject what you think you mean and simply let yourself go. It feels like you’re following Fred Again… as he creates his songs. The beat of “Jungle” drops and everyone’s hands shoot up. The light flickers brightly. At this point at the latest, the concert is one big party. The musician then has to take a deep breath. Apparently he feels everything himself the most.
A little lost together
Like daylight, thousands of cell phone flashlights illuminate the Mercedes-Benz Arena as the musician plays his final song, “Angie (I’ve been lost).” “I’ve been lost, I’ve been lost, I’ve been lost / I’ve been lost for a while / But I’m really trying”: The crowd sings the track’s lyrics over and over again. They are the only (repeating) words that accompany the melody.
No song seems as fitting for the end as this one, because the audience – mostly in their twenties – probably feels really lost a lot of the time. Maybe it’s these lines or the love of music that makes a sense of community with thousands of strangers possible that evening. Hair stands up and goosebumps cover the body. Fred Again… chuckles cheerfully. The last song is over. The crowd doesn’t give up yet, but the bright neon signs and spotlights of the arena roughly take you out of the emotive world he’s created for this hour and a half. “Get home safe everyone, thank you,” appears on the big screen. A red heart emoji underneath. Just love. Again and again and again.