Text Schallplatten & CDs

Review: If you don't know the backstory then Fred Again and Brian Eno being on the same record might seem rather unlikely. One is an ambient innovator and long-time musical wizard who has worked with the like of David Bowie on his most seminal albums, and the other is a dance music powerhouse who has turned out plenty of pop hits under his own name and worked on even bigger ones with stars like Ed Sheehan. But as a youth, Fred was mentored by Eno, so there you go. Together they fuse their respective sounds perfectly - Fred's diary-like vocal musings over Eno's painterly synth sequences, the whole thing an immersive and escapist masterclass.

Review: The idea that everyone's favourite modern-day TikTok button-masher and producer extraordinaire, Fred Again, would team up with historic ambient music titan Brian Eno was anyone's guess. Surprisingly, though, Brian Eno was a childhood neighbour of Fred's - of course, similar experiences beget similar creative expression. We also suppose just about anything can happen when you fall in with Kieran Hebden aka. Four Tet, who runs the label that houses this brand new record from the pair, Text Records. This surprise LP is sure to be mobbed with massive fan demand - not least due to the unlikely pairing, but also because it's gorgeous. Fred Again's pop-samplework is reworked into an entirely different context than his usual banger experiments; cuts like 'Radio' instead recall the rough heavenly-textural work of underground ambient artists on Soundcloud, with its phone-liney vocals equally reminding us of the heartfelt understatedness of tracks like Yves Tumor's 'Limerence'. Brian Eno, meanwhile, outdoes himself on the album's start-stoppy, but no less evocative structure, complementing Fred's vocal-sample-centric approach extremely well. Deeper listens confirm the heart-tugging theme: the hidden aspects of human relationships - intimacy, vulnerability, and trust.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


If you don't know the backstory then Fred Again and Brian Eno being on the same record might seem rather unlikely. One is an ambient innovator and long-time musical wizard who has worked with the like of David Bowie on his most seminal albums, and the other is a dance music powerhouse who has turned out plenty of pop hits under his own name and worked on even bigger ones with stars like Ed Sheehan. But as a youth, Fred was mentored by Eno, so there you go. Together they fuse their respective sounds perfectly - Fred's diary-like vocal musings over Eno's painterly synth sequences, the whole thing an immersive and escapist masterclass.