MUSIC PREMIERES
Price Returns With New
Music Courtesy of PriceThese new cats ain’t playing with y’all on the releases. Coming out with a double dose of content, up-and-coming artist Price links with Dreamville’s Bas and the legend Wyclef for his bouncy bassline-fueled single “Selfish.”
Hearing the messages that permeate the track is where the greatness of this production lies. “Selfish is a song that was made to inspire people to take time out for themselves, better themselves while doing it, and love themselves in the process,” says Price. “We’re often looked at as selfish for doing these things for ourselves, so I wanted to shed light and present people with a different way of looking at it.”
Produced by Camper, known for tracks with Keyshia Cole (“Trust and Believe”), Tamar Braxton (“Love and War”), Mary J. Blige (“Self Love”) and executive producing Brandy’s newest album B7, the New Jersey native adds his magic to the groove oozing track. That strong foundation only added to the fact that Price could link with the bros in Bas and Wyclef. “Making ‘Selfish’ with Bas and Wyclef was a dream come true,” Price explains. “I got the chance to tour with Bas overseas and Wyclef was one of my biggest influences growing up. The creation process was amazing. Even through quarantine we were still able to come together and create something we all love and we hope the people will love it just as much as we do.”
Where “Selfish” describes taking time for self “Amistad” details the struggles of Black people and how easy it is for the systematic breakdown of our culture effects our generations past, present and future. Also produced by Camper, Price leans on personal experience and historical reverance to get this one out to the the people. “‘Amistad’ is a very non-traditional but powerful song. I want to give my fans new experiences every time I release new music. I have other songs on the album with big features but I felt it was important to come with ‘Amistad’ first because of the message it conveys.”
Be on the look out for Price’s sophomore album F.O.E.S which will be out on March 26th. Check his debut project C.L.R.D below.
MUSIC PREMIERES
Four years on from the ‘Actual Life’ series lifting him into the mainstream spotlight, Fred Again.. continues to feel unavoidable. The London producer and DJ born Fred Gibson has moved at a relentless pace, bouncing between sold out stadium dates in New York and surprise appearances at Sheffield’s 1,000 capacity Forge, while also making history as the first electronic artist to top the bill at Reading and Leeds in 2024.
Where the ‘Actual Life’ releases and his fourth album, 2024’s ‘Ten Days’, leaned into warmth and joy pulled from ordinary moments, Gibson has also sharpened his instinct for high impact club weapons rooted in garage, dubstep and jungle. That side of his output lives on ‘USB’, an “infinite album” first imagined in 2022 as a home for tracks that exist outside any fixed universe, including defining moments like ‘Rumble’ and ‘Jungle’.
‘USB002’, the second vinyl only chapter of the ‘USB’ project, brings together 16 recent tracks, many of which surfaced gradually on streaming services over a ten week stretch. The music was shaped live, in step with ten unannounced DJ appearances across the world from Dublin to Mexico City. Even with a Glastonbury style registration system in place, The Times reported that 100,000 people tried to secure tickets for the opening night in Glasgow.
Appropriately, ‘USB002’ feels alive and constantly in motion, helped along by contributions from close collaborators such as Floating Points and Sammy Virji. The rigid, techno driven pressure of ‘Ambery’ echoes elements of Floating Points’ 2019 album ‘Crush’, while Gibson’s take on ‘The Floor’ builds like the slow climb of a rollercoaster before dropping back to earth without warning.
The guest list stretches beyond the usual dance circles, with two Australian guitar bands popping up in unexpected ways. ‘You’re A Star’ reworks Amyl and The Sniffers’ ‘Big Dreams’ into a breakbeat driven rush, while ‘Hardstyle 2’ pulls the experimental post punk edge of Shady Nasty into an Underworld adjacent space alongside Kettama. Gibson’s real trick is his ability to connect with anyone. These tracks are not reinterpretations but full takeovers.
The visual world wrapped around the ‘USB002’ rollout reinforces the instinct behind the music. Phones were prohibited at shows staged in vast warehouse spaces under sweeping light rigs, while Gibson’s team shared striking black and white footage and created artwork for each single on site. Bottling that sense of urgency, the project is rooted in the thrill of the present moment, something Gibson seems able to summon simply by turning up.
If the ‘Actual Life’ series and ‘Ten Days’ captured passing snapshots of experience, ‘USB’ is defined by constant movement, a space where boundaries are removed entirely. Sitting somewhere between an album and a playlist, ‘USB002’ underlines why Fred Again.. feels so dominant right now, and suggests that his current run may only be the beginning of something much bigger.
