The word was in the air on Coachella weekend. There was one name that I kept hearing over and over again. “Fred.” The anticipation had really built up for his set on Sunday. It was a blistering final day, but there was nothing but smiles and high energy in the Mojave tent. Finally the moment arrived, and Fred again.. arrived on stage for a performance that brought back dancing.
A perfect word to describe the way Fred makes music is “personal.” In my perspective you can really observe how his thought process works when he hears a sample, word, or idea in his life through his live performance. He breaks apart that process on stage, showing the video of the origins of the sample on each respective song. When seeing how he interpolates this sound bite, there’s a tangible sense of what that means to him. While most of the clips retain the same meaning in the song that it becomes, it’s still an interesting idea to hold onto the original source material in the performance. It feels appropriate because those samples are such an integral part of his music.
Many EDM performances really blow through a ton of songs in a setlist. In Fred’s set, it felt like he let a lot of the songs marinate to perfection. Nothing felt rushed, and every song had its specific time and place in the grand scheme of the performance. For a forty-five minute set, every second was made to count here. He was able to use the time to let all the emotions from his music sink in. He hit and topped an emotional peak in his performance so many times I lost count. Each song was never ushered off too quickly, and they all served their purpose whether it was to make us cry or dance.
Fred has a beautiful stage presence during his shows. He came out and admitted during his first vocal performance that his voice was shaking, which was met with a wave of cheers. The crowd couldn’t care less because they were all having the time of their lives. He bounced around from a keyboard to a drum pad to a controller. It all felt very necessary like he had it really worked out for what he needed to do for every respective track. Nothing felt flashy or unnecessary as if he’s going over to make a beat for a song that doesn’t need it. Everything had intention. His positivity and smile was absolutely infectious. It raised the spirits in that tent two-fold.
Fred again.. convinced me with that performance that he is going to be an absolute superstar. With a growing body of original songs that have a distinguishable sound and vibrant spirit as well as a beautiful personality and stage presence, there’s nothing this man cannot do. I am amazed by the talent he holds, and I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring from Fred.
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