Is Fred Again.. About To Head Down Under?

Could Fred Again.. be returning to Australia this year? According to recent Instagram Stories shared by the famous English producer (and the dedicated Fred Again.. subreddit), it sure seems likely.

Earlier this week, Fred Again.. shared a snap of himself and a colleague backstage, sitting on a FOH trunk while snacking. Also on the trunk was a roll of red gaffer tape and a pasted label that mentioned Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.

He then shared another teaser on Instagram Stories, this time of a FaceTime screenshot with the My Bloody Valentine track Soon playing in the background. Fred, in the corner, was holding a jar of Vegemite. If that’s not a teaser for an Australian visit, we don’t know what is.

@purplesneakers.tv

Could Fred Again.. be returning to Australia soon? I feel something in me waters.... 👀 #fredagainaustralia #fredagainagainagain #fredagaintour #fredagain2024 #livemusicaustralia

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Some fans online are speculating that Fred Again.. is planning a trip down under sooner rather than later, maybe preparing a pop-up show in the not-so-small venue of Rod Laver Arena in March or April.

This theory went into overdrive over the weekend when Fred announced via Instagram Stories that he and Aussie artist Joy Anonymous would be “getting on a flight tomorrow”. This was followed by an image of Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings - which was famously filmed in New Zealand, further fuelling speculation that the pair were heading south of the equator.

The hitmaker then revealed on Monday (Feb. 26) that they were officially boarding the mysterious flight and “when we lad we’re gonna play some shows…”

After having boarded the plane and posting a video to his Instagram Stories, eagle-eyed fans spotted what they believed to be the infamous QANTAS kangaroo logo on the tip of the plane’s wing that Fred was flying on.

As for whether the shows are for those of us in Australia and New Zealand, we will just have to wait and see what the cryptic producer has in store for us all…

@purplesneakers.tv

Replying to @Sarah Moss I think this latest clue confirms Fred Again is 💯 heading to Australia/New Zealand 👀 #fredagainaustralia #fredagain2024 #fredagaintour #fredagainagainagain #fredagainlive

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Last July, Fred Again.. dropped teasers for the new tracks ten (the firrrrrsttt day back), adore u (toronto-home edit9) and JohnMystery (Edit3B). Those snippets arrived after he released his latest collaborative album, Secret Life, alongside Brian Eno on Four Tet's label, Text Records, which dropped on 5 May, and Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022), which was released in October 2022.

Fred Again.. toured Australia for the first time in early February 2023. Laneway Festival booking him and getting him here as he was blowing up was a stroke of genius, with the EDM star pulling the largest crowds of the festival. He also performed secret shows at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre and played two other shows in Sydney: at the Hordern Pavilion and the Enmore Theatre.

Reviewing the Sydney edition of the festival for The Music, writer David James Young wrote about Fred Again..’s set:

As a man who's largely existed on phone screens and Spotify playlists over the last 18 months, lockdown saviour Fred again.. coming out on stage on the other side of the world is a joyous moment in and unto itself.

It gets bigger, brighter and more beautiful from there – the beloved producer re-imagines his Actual Life trilogy with dazzling visuals and some deft finger-work on the GoPro'd MPC. With arguably the biggest audience of the entire day cheering him on, Fred then pulls off the ultimate miracle: Performing Madea (We've Lost Dancing) in front of a crowd that has euphorically found it once again. Beautiful, exploding festival perfection – easily the set of the day.

You can read Purple Sneakers’ 2023 interview with Fred Again.. here.