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Jacob Collier shares new single that “harkens back to much of the rock music I loved as a child”
Jacob Collier teams up with Remi Wolf for new single WELLLL, which he calls “a convergence of many musical materials I haven’t explored until now”.
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Jacob Collier: “Steve Vai taught me a lot about trusting the universe”
Jacob Collier is Gen Z’s most fascinating prodigy. But not even a musical genius knows all the answers, especially when dabbling in rock for the first time…
- Words:
- Sophie McVinnie
- Photos:
- Tom Bender, Thom Kerr
At midnight on March 1, Jacob Collier was wide awake. There was something electrifying the air that hadn’t been there before: the dawn of a new chapter. That morning, the grand finale of his four-part Djesse album series was released. Emotions were brimming as he typed out an ardent message to social media: “It’s 5:13am on March 1st 2024, in Los Angeles, as I write this,” he began. “At the end of one era and the beginning of another. Whilst it’s impossible to truly put into words how it feels, I figured I’d try my best to piece it together for you, and me, to somehow encapsulate what this moment means to me.”
Six years ago, in 2018, Jacob envisioned a colossal passion project which looked something like a giant album. After the myriad arrangements and original songs he’d posted on YouTube that drew veteran musician Herbie Hancock and record producer Quincy Jones to his side, not to mention the serendipitous success he’d found after his 2016 debut In My Room, one thing was obvious: he loved music. And if he made fizzy concoctions of genre – not just pretty melodies – people might know they can make any music they like, trendy or unusual, just as long as it makes them feel. Today, now the massive Djesse album is a completed four-part series, Jacob has tampered with almost every genre in the stratosphere. But, for the first time, on Vol. 4 that includes rock and doom metal.
“I don’t know why I was led to the rock world, but I’ve always loved it,” he muses, wearing a signature multi-coloured shirt just weeks after returning from his North American tour leg. The record’s fourth track WELLLL is a pumped-up jamfest full of screeching guitar riffs as Jacob makes his own flavour of rock’n’roll. “When I grew up, Queen was one of my favourite bands, and I think the intensity of their sound really hit me hard at that age.” WELLLL was one of the first singles released from the album and co-written by U.S. singer-songwriter Remi Wolf. Heavy genres like metal and hard rock had been largely untouched by the musician before then, so its anthemic sound was cathartic. Stentorian and poised, it’s Jacob Collier at his wildest.
“It’s a funny thing where these albums were in a sense ordained from the start, but they were also very much discovered as I was going,” he explains. “The fun thing about being an artist is you can never really plan what’s going to excite you or move you the most at one particular time. You just have to show up and be available for those things to take hold of you. And so I did. And I realised, ‘Oh gosh, this has got to be like this. This has to include some of those guttural rock or guitar-led elements because they feel right for now.’”
WELLLL was produced using Jacob’s signature Strandberg five-string guitar. It might be shocking to hear given how exceptional he is on every instrument, but he claims to be a beginner. It’s seasoned players (and close friends) like John Mayer and Steve Vai, he says, who’ve shown him the ropes, both of whom feature on Djesse Vol. 4. “I think about it first as listening to them, mostly as a fan,” he says. “Say Steve Vai for example – I listen and I think, ‘How does he do that? That’s crazy!’ And Steve is one of my dearest friends. He’s an amazing guy. He’s taught me a lot about the guitar, but not so much from showing me stuff on the neck or talking about picking or something like that. It's more about his approach to life that is quite resplendent and his philosophy for radically accepting a process and trusting the universe, which feels very big and glorious. But I think that any aspect of music is kind of an extension of life. And a lot of the same forces that make music work are the same forces that make life work.”
On Djesse Vol. 4 alone, Jacob collaborated with 25 artists across 16 tracks including Brandi Carlile, Anoushka Shankar, Lizzy McAlpine and Shawn Mendes. The end result is a scrapbook of moods featuring everything from acoustic folk (Little Blue) to hip-hop wrapped in thumping trap-bass (Box Of Stars). Creating music with other people has always been important to him – perhaps one of the best parts of making an album. But despite being described as “nothing I’ve ever seen before, worked with before, listened to before” by Stormzy and “the best musician in the world” by Chris Martin, he still treats every day like a school day.
“Music is not one of these languages where there’s an inherent right and wrong way of doing things,” Jacob says. “There are guidelines and ways forward that can help you discover who you are and what your language is within it. But ultimately, you can do whatever you want. And I think that’s such a lovely thing to realise.”
He practises what he preaches – naturally, making an album doesn’t mean you have to only use the people in the recording studio. On the opening track, 100,000 Voices, Jacob employs the help of his audience choir from touring days. Splitting them directly down the middle, he guides them through two lines of melody that combine to make a “glorious wall of humanity”, as he gleefully describes it. “It hits you like you’re in a rush,” he grins. “And it’s a very beautiful thing for them to be a part of. It’s definitely a rather unusual combination of elements, but it’s really a thrill.”
With a run of shows left across Europe and the UK this year, Jacob Collier has just begun spreading his magic. Chiefly, his message is one of encouragement to his “fellow bandmates”, as he calls his audiences. Delve into any kind of music you like. Listen to it, play it, learn about it, feel it. There is no right or wrong.
“Everything is for everybody if you know how to listen to it.”
Djesse Vol. 4 is out now via Decca/Hajanga. Jacob Collier will be performing Manchester’s AO Arena on December 8 and London’s The O2 on December 9 – get your tickets now.
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