Turn On The Lights again.. (feat. Future)

"Turn On The Lights again.." is a high-energy electronic track that transforms the theme of Future's original 2012 song, "Turn On the Lights," into a euphoric, rave-centric anthem. The core meaning revolves around a desperate and relentless search for an ideal partner. Future's sampled vocals, particularly the lines "And tell her I've been lookin' for her," convey a deep sense of longing and pursuit. The original song describes searching for a dream woman who is both a "hood girl" and a "good girl," someone loyal and true. Fred again.. and Swedish House Mafia amplify the urgency of this search by setting it against a pulsating, powerful house and UK garage beat.

The titular phrase, "Turn on the lights," functions as a powerful metaphor. It represents a plea for clarity and revelation—a desire to end the search and finally see the person he has been looking for. It's a call to illuminate the darkness of loneliness and uncertainty, hoping that this will make his dream a reality. The track's structure, with its massive build-ups and cathartic drops, mirrors the emotional arc of this desperate search, transforming the original's melancholic hip-hop feel into a collective, high-energy experience for the dance floor.

The song captures a relentless and urgent search for a significant person, a woman who represents an ideal partner. This quest is not passive; it's an active, almost frantic pursuit. The narrative begins with an acknowledgment of internal struggle, a shared experience of going through difficult times, setting a tone of vulnerability. The core of the song is the repeated plea to an unseen intermediary: "And tell her I've been lookin' for her." This line is hammered home, becoming a mantra that underscores the depth of the search. It suggests a sense of distance and longing, a feeling that the desired person is just out of reach, and the speaker needs help making the connection.

This search is punctuated by the powerful command, "Turn on the lights." This phrase acts as both a literal and metaphorical call to action. On one level, it's a demand for clarity, to illuminate the darkness and reveal the person he is seeking. It's a cry to make the unseen visible, to bring his dream woman out of the shadows and into reality. Metaphorically, it represents a desire for a moment of revelation and hope, a turning point that will end the painful process of searching. It implies that with the lights on, the confusion will end, and he will finally find what he is looking for—a faithful and true partner.

The repetition in the song is key to its emotional impact. The phrases "I'm lookin' for her" and "Turn on the lights" are looped and layered, creating a sense of obsessive focus and escalating intensity. This isn't just a casual search; it's a consuming need. The driving, high-energy beat of the track mirrors this internal state of agitation and anticipation. The music builds and drops, mimicking the highs and lows of this emotional journey—the hope, the frustration, and the desperate yearning for resolution. The song doesn't necessarily offer a conclusion to the search, but rather immerses the listener in the powerful, all-encompassing feeling of the search itself, making it a universal anthem for anyone longing to find their perfect counterpart.

"Turn On The Lights again.." was born from an impromptu studio session in Sweden between Fred again.. and the electronic supergroup Swedish House Mafia. The track is built around a prominent sample from the Atlanta rapper Future's 2012 hit, "Turn On The Lights." Fred again.. reportedly ripped the vocal sample after streaming a video clip of the original song online. He then developed the initial sketch and presented the stems to Swedish House Mafia, who worked on the track with him to create the final version.

The song gained significant traction before its official release. Fred again.. debuted a demo version during his iconic Boiler Room set in London on June 29, 2022. The crowd's massive reaction was captured on video, and clips of the performance quickly went viral on social media platforms like TikTok, creating immense hype. Following the overwhelming online response, the track was finalized and officially released on July 29, 2022, as the second single from Fred again..'s album Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022). The production credits include Fred again.., Swedish House Mafia, Desembra, and Parisi. This marked the second collaboration between Fred again.. and Swedish House Mafia, following his production credit on their track "Calling On."

The lyrical content of "Turn On The Lights again.." is minimal and built on repetition rather than a complex rhyme scheme. The core lyrics are sampled directly from Future's original track and consist of simple, direct phrases like "And tell her I've been lookin' for her" and "Turn on the lights." There is no formal rhyme scheme like AABB or ABAB; instead, the song employs repetition as a rhetorical device to create a hypnotic, mantra-like effect, emphasizing the singular, obsessive focus of the search.

The song's rhythmic structure is its driving force. Set at a tempo of approximately 132 BPM, it falls squarely in the UK Garage and House territory. The beat is characterized by a syncopated, shuffling breakbeat rhythm that encourages dancing. The interplay between the rhythm of the chopped vocal samples and the underlying percussive beat is crucial. The vocals are rhythmically manipulated to function as a percussive and melodic element, creating a tight groove. The track's energy is managed through its rhythmic builds and drops, where the beat might thin out to create anticipation before crashing back in with full force, a classic technique in EDM and House music to create euphoric moments on the dancefloor.

The most prominent stylistic technique is the masterful use of sampling. The entire track is built around the vocal hook from Future's 2012 song "Turn On the Lights." Fred again.. chops, loops, and pitches the sample, transforming its original melancholic R&B/Hip-Hop context into a high-energy electronic anthem. This technique of recontextualizing a sample is a hallmark of Fred again..'s Actual Life project.

Musically, the song blends several genres, including UK Garage, House, and arena-level EDM. It features a characteristic garage breakbeat rhythm with a rounded kick and a snare that is almost reminiscent of drum and bass. The production employs significant dynamic contrast, with trance-like build-ups featuring saw waves and layered synths that create immense tension before releasing into powerful, bass-heavy drops—a technique perfected by co-producers Swedish House Mafia. The bass is complex, layered with a sub-bass, a mid-range reese-like tone, and a distorted, buzzy higher bass, creating a full and powerful low end. The use of repetition in both the vocal sample and the main synth motif makes the track incredibly hypnotic and memorable, designed for maximum impact in a live festival or club setting.

"Turn On The Lights again.." had a significant cultural impact almost immediately, largely driven by its viral debut. Fred again..'s performance of the track in his June 2022 Boiler Room set became an instant classic in the electronic music community, with the video amassing tens of millions of views and creating massive anticipation for the song's official release. This viral moment cemented the track as one of the defining dance anthems of 2022.

Upon its release, the song achieved notable chart success, reaching number 27 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 on the Irish Singles Chart. Its popularity extended beyond the charts, with the French football club Paris Saint-Germain famously using the song in a video to announce the signing of player Vitinha. The song's blend of UK garage, house, and a prominent American hip-hop sample was praised by critics and solidified Fred again..'s reputation as an innovative producer capable of bridging genres. It remains a staple in DJ sets worldwide and is considered a highlight in the discographies of both Fred again.. and Swedish House Mafia.

The central metaphor of the song is encapsulated in the phrase "Turn on the lights." This is not merely a literal request but a symbolic plea for clarity, revelation, and an end to a period of searching and emotional darkness. The 'lights' symbolize hope and the moment of discovery, the point at which the object of the search—the ideal partner—is finally found and made visible. The darkness, by contrast, represents the loneliness, confusion, and longing experienced during the search. By repeatedly demanding to "turn on the lights," the song channels a desperate desire to transition from a state of uncertainty to one of fulfillment and connection.

The act of "looking for her" symbolizes a universal human quest for a perfect, loyal partner. Future's original lyrics specify the qualities of this ideal person, making the search a targeted one for a specific kind of salvation from loneliness. The relentless repetition of this search in the lyrics, combined with the driving beat, turns the quest into an almost spiritual or obsessive journey, highlighting the intensity of the human need for companionship and understanding.

The most significant recurring lyrical phrase is "And tell her I've been lookin' for her." This line, sampled from Future's original song, is repeated extensively throughout the track, functioning as its central emotional anchor. Its repetition transforms it from a simple statement into a desperate mantra, emphasizing the depth and persistence of the speaker's search for a perfect partner. It becomes the song's primary hook and narrative focus.

The second key recurring phrase is the titular command, "Turn on the lights." This phrase acts as both a lyrical and musical cue. Lyrically, it's a plea for clarity and revelation. Musically, it often precedes a major shift in the track's dynamics, such as a build-up or a drop, acting as a powerful signal for an energy shift. Its repetition builds anticipation and provides a cathartic release when the beat fully kicks in. Together, these two phrases create a simple but powerful narrative loop: the declaration of the search, followed by the desperate call for its conclusion.