Jacob Collier’s latest album, “Djesse: Vol. 3,” both widens his appeal to a broader audience and challenges his established fanbase with his most sophisticated album yet.
Collier burst onto the music scene in 2013 after his YouTube cover of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” went viral, leading to an illustrious number of showings and performances at various jazz festivals around the world.
In 2017, Collier began his “Djesse” project. “Djesse” is intended to be a four-part series, each album illustrating a sonic representation for a different part of the day. “Djesse: Vol. 1” is morning, “Vol. 2” is day, and this month’s album, “Djesse: Vol. 3,” is evening.
From the downbeat of Volume three’s first track, “CLARITY,” Collier makes apparent the change in tone from earlier installments. Where volume one begins with the soft and supple cries of UK octet Voces8, and volume two opens with an emotionally stirring bagpipe solo, volume three bursts with riveting technobabble.
Dozens of samples cycle quickly and succinctly, as if “CLARITY” is the warm-up of an orchestra entirely comprised of machines.
The introduction seamlessly transitions into “Count the People,” featuring Jessie Reyez and T-Pain. Volume three, unlike its predecessors, comes on strong. Very strong.
Each of the first five tracks deliver a rhythmic and tonal punch. By fiercely collaborating with other artists, Collier manages to capture the sound and texture of modern hip hop, while infusing it with his own peculiarities. The effect is both impressive and exhausting.
To be honest, I had a hard time listening to the first portion of “Djesse: Vol. 3.” It is not because Collier and his fellow artists failed to engage me, but because they engaged me so intensely that I couldn’t keep up.
Volume three is Collier’s shortest album, running at just over 41 minutes, but every minute of every track presents the highest level of musical craftsmanship. It is not until track six, “In Too Deep,” featuring Kiana Ledé, where the mood shifts and the tempo slows. “In Too Deep” initiates the second act of volume three. The album that debuts with sharp intensity now transitions into the romantic and reflective.
In the beginning of the album, the lyrics are a tool for delivering pulse and pitch. Once volume three makes itself comfortable, the vocals are brought forward, and the lyrics are placed center stage. “Running Outta Love,” featuring Tori Kelly, flexes the strength of Collier’s skill of giving feeling a sound.
Lyrically, “Running Outta Love” is an ode to a couple’s inability to communicate.
Kelly sings “It ain’t always easy getting through to you. Complicating, overthinking every move… I don’t know how to do it. I get so close to you and… But then you look at me like I’m not there.”
Kelly plays a lover who can’t talk to her partner. She wants him to know how much she cares. She wants him to know everything is alright, but she can’t muster the courage. She fears he’s running out of love.
Later, time reverses and we hear Collier’s perspective.
Collier sings “Every morning, I wake up and you’re not there. But you know I’m always thinking ’bout you. ‘Cause I like to think you know the way I feel about you deep inside.”
Collier’s character feels the same way!
To great effect, “Djesse: Volume 3” puts on display Collier’s blossoming lyricism. When a song in this album tells a story, it does it extraordinarily well.
Track eleven, “He Won’t Hold You,” features Rapsody in Collier’s perfect synthesis of his musical worldview. Rapsody delivers a beautiful spoken word poem, exhibiting strength and independence.
Rapsody speaks “Your feelings out there spill over, and over and over. Just a cover for insecurities I couldn’t show to him. I had to face myself, my fears, my feels. Now I know there’s nothing I can’t do.”
There’s nothing she can’t do. Damn right.
“Djesse: Vol. 3” is an achievement of musical production, an achievement of collaboration and an achievement in sonic storytelling. Unfortunately, what makes volume three shine is also what limits its listenability.
In general, there tend to be two types of music. Music you feel and music you listen to. Volume three wants to be both. The orchestration and form is indicative of popular music designed to be felt whilst playing softly in the background. Meanwhile, the rhythmic and tonal centers relentlessly shift and contort, demanding closer attention.
Volume three demands your attention. Each track wants to be listened to within the context of the album. Because of this, I don’t see myself picking any one song out for my routine playlists. “Djesse: Vol. 3” is so tight a package that any impulse to break it up just feels wrong. If Collier intended to create the next great hit, he likely failed. If he intended to produce a beautiful piece of art for close, thoughtful contemplation, he succeeded spectacularly.
Collier’s third “Djesse” album ends with a track titled “To Sleep.”
He sings “It’s time to go. To go to sleep. It’s time for me to go. So, you can get some sleep. To sleep, to sleep, to sleep.”
Jacob Collier has an album about morning, an album about day and an album about evening. If only we all lived our lives with such clarity.
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