Fred Again.. has spoken in a rare interview about his approach to writing music, and how he tries to only “listen to the criticism that resonates”.
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The British producer took part in a rare interview as part of Instagram’s Ask It Anyway series, and shared a new insight into his outlook when making new material, his time working with names including Skrillex, Four Tet and Brian Eno, and more.
In the interview, which saw him sit alongside Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso, Fred Again.. also opened up about how he is gradually becoming more accepting of his music and pushing himself to release more, rather than quickly dismissing it in the early stages.
“For me, I’m trying to just protect my mental [health] so that I can feel good to make music every day, so everything just kind of feeds into that,” he said, looking back at some of the biggest moments of his career so far.
“I definitely haven’t always been good at this, but as I get older I care more about getting good sleep or exercising, so when I wake up I can have the cleanest line between here and here.”
This balance, he added, has meant that while he would probably only release “0.0001 per cent of things I made” during his 20s, now aged 32, “now I reckon 1 per cent comes out, so that’s great.”
Sharing how he tries to make music on a daily basis, the producer continued: “I try and make a few ideas a day, and most of them are rubbish [but its about] the joy and the journey of finding out what you like. Like closing your eyes and throwing paint and seeing what sticks.”
“I would definitely preach all day about, the more you can fall in love with the obsession of it and the craft and just chasing chasing, to me that’s the win,” he added. “The best feeling to me is when you play back the thing you’ve made that day and you actually feel good about it. That’s the drug I’m chasing every day.”
He also added that he has tried to stop listening to criticism from different avenues, and instead has a close circle of friends who he can share ideas with and benefit from their feedback.
“[I have] a WhatsApp group with four of us and I’ll send everything to that group,” he shared. “All of them aren’t musicians, and that’s almost why I value their thoughts… You can take the feedback that resonates. That’s the most important thing. Don’t listen to any criticism, listen to the criticism that resonates.”
Later in the discussion, Fred also spoke about how he reached out to Four Tet and shared his hopes to work together, long before they ended up joining forces. “It comes back to trying to nurture your resilience so you can shoot a million shots and not take it personally,” he said about what that email experience taught him. “Because it’s not personal when they don’t land, it’s nothing to do with you.”
Fred Again..’s song with Skepta and Plaqueboymax, ‘Victory Lap’, was recently listed on NME’s list of the Best Songs Of 2025. In a description, Kyann-Sian Williams described the collab as a “true grand slam”.
“‘Victory Lap’ revolves around a Doechii sample and a sludgy bassline, Skep’s relentless flow and droll quips amping the urgency up to 11,” it read.
Before then, October saw Daft Punk‘s Thomas Bangalter play a surprise DJ set with Fred Again.. in Paris, and Fred dropped the high-octane single ‘You’re A Star’ with Amyl & The Sniffers from his USB series that same month.
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