Jacob Collier at the O2 Arena
The final stop on the Djesse Vol 4 tour has the air of homecoming, drawing to a close six years of tireless work from who the New York Times dubs “The Colourful Mozart of Gen Z”. Djesse is a four-part project exploring in turn orchestral grandeur, intimate folk and technicolour pop. Vol 4 lets Jacob Collier’s imagination run wild over the course of 16 tracks, an amalgam of styles and collaborations.
Collier’s live show certainly reflects this wildness. Kicking off with 100,000 Voices, the maximalist rock anthem features recordings of his audiences taken across the world. WELLL has a good melody at its heart, but sudden time changes and a doom-metal breakdown dilute this core idea. The audience is presently blasted with lights of every colour on the visible spectrum – a bold move that risks sensory fatigue before the show has really started.
Time Alone With You, on the other hand, sinks into a deep groove reminiscent of D’Angelo. Switching between slinky bass tones and expansive choral melodies, it strikes a lovely balance between apparent opposites. With such a wide range of styles to draw from, it’s almost inevitable that his audience will experience some hits and some misses.
Even if it isn’t for everyone, Collier’s instinct for experimentation has attracted some high-profile fans. Originally covering popular songs with multi-layered vocal harmonies, he got his start with a viral version of Stevie Wonder’s Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing in 2013. This earned attention from Quincy Jones, who connected him with other stars like Herbie Hancock and Mr Wonder himself. In recent years Collier has seized the chance to work with a range of artists across his four Djesse albums.
Such collaborations add intrigue to Collier’s show. Tori Kelly joins the stage for a cover of Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water, her incredible vocal range giving new life to a Simon & Garfunkel classic. Collier’s three backing singers all demonstrate their expertise throughout the night without missing a single note. A surprise entrance from Chris Martin misses the mark, however. The Coldplayer singer seems slightly put off by Collier’s playful piano style, and at moments is visibly confused.
Despite this hiccup, Collier’s joy throughout the two-hour show is telling. He revels in sharing music with both the public and his musical partners, all the while riding on the edge of impossibility. Like it or not, you can’t call it boring.
Ben Browning
Photos: Rory Barnes
For further information and future events visit Jacob Collier’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Three Christmas Songs here:
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