Jacob Collier

[stuartbert two hats]

This young man is extraordinary.  For pure musicianship, he puts the likes of Prince in the shade.  Multiple Grammy award winner, he's done things in music that have literally never been done before - using microtonal theory to change key by and tuning system in a way that sounds more in tune than normal harmonies.   It's all very complicated and I don't understand it.

 

This cover of All Night Long has about a section beginning at about 4:25 that does quite incredible things to the ears.

 

And this seemingly improvised cover of Fix You, whilst it has a slightly meandering section takes the Coldplay song through multiple keys in a way that strengthens the emotional message of the song (song starts 1 minute in).  It's quite beautiful.

 

Finally, this livestreamed duet with Chris Martin where Martin has to stop the song and make a comparison to Amadeus.

Never mind the fact that he could continue playing piano over the internet and not get distracted by Chris Martin seemingly being out of time - he just adjusted for the latency in his head and could still play in time.

A combination of extreme talent, hard work and being taught music from an early age by his musician family.  

So, despite all this, sometimes the music isn't all that great to listen to, despite it bursting with innovation and talent.  But no doubt, the man is crazy, crazy talented.  Could he play Glastonbury?  And if so, where?

[Zacko]

The guys a fucking wizard and a FANTASTIC teacher. 

I agree that some (lots?) of his music is just so complex that it almost becomes...unenjoyable (?) though. But recently I've found he's hitting the sweet spot between technically amazing and listenable for me, Good Days by SZA in particular. 

Could see him on West Holts maybe? 

[stuartbert two hats]

2 minutes ago, Zacko said:

The guys a fucking wizard and a FANTASTIC teacher. 

I agree that some (lots?) of his music is just so complex that it almost becomes...unenjoyable (?) though. But recently I've found he's hitting the sweet spot between technically amazing and listenable for me, Good Days by SZA in particular. 

Could see him on West Holts maybe? 

He would work really well on The Park with all that audience participation stuff he likes to do.

He's probably the lowest profile artist with four Grammys.

[Zacko]

1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

He would work really well on The Park with all that audience participation stuff he likes to do.

He's probably the lowest profile artist with four Grammys.

Now this would be great! 

The video where he explains one musical concept in 5 levels of difficulty is GOAT stuff. Him and Herbie fucking Hancock just vibing out at the end. Mega. 

[stuartbert two hats]

9 minutes ago, Zacko said:

Now this would be great! 

The video where he explains one musical concept in 5 levels of difficulty is GOAT stuff. Him and Herbie fucking Hancock just vibing out at the end. Mega. 

Have you seen the physics version of that video? The guy at the end talking about the fabric of the universe, giving off strong S&M vibes for some reason.

[Suprefan]

8 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

He would work really well on The Park with all that audience participation stuff he likes to do.

He's probably the lowest profile artist with four Grammys.

When you win 5 times in a single category that is buried at the bottom of the awards list its easy to be low profile. Ask any reggae artist named Marley or Kirk Franklin.

[stuartbert two hats]

15 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

When you win 5 times in a single category that is buried at the bottom of the awards list its easy to be low profile. Ask any reggae artist named Marley or Kirk Franklin.

That's fair.

[funkychick2007]

Wow such a raw but pure sound at the same time!!!! A very late slot at The Park looking across at the beautiful view of the site!!! 

Edited June 30, 2021 by funkychick2007
Spelling

[fred quimby]

He is very very talented. Only seen a few clips before but will look a little more

[stuartbert two hats]

48 minutes ago, Zacko said:

The guys a fucking wizard and a FANTASTIC teacher. 

I agree that some (lots?) of his music is just so complex that it almost becomes...unenjoyable (?) though. But recently I've found he's hitting the sweet spot between technically amazing and listenable for me, Good Days by SZA in particular. 

Could see him on West Holts maybe? 

Good Days had passed me by somehow, it's great, thanks for that. And Jacob's small part works well - maybe he's better having someone else in the driving seat, stopping him from getting carried away.

I wonder if anyone likes him that's not a musician of some sort? 

[kalifire]

Agree with others here. The guy is a musical wizard. I first discovered him during his Tiny Desk gig, and this number blew me away.

 

[Haan]

11 hours ago, Zacko said:

agree that some (lots?) of his music is just so complex that it almost becomes...unenjoyable (?) though.

Hard agree, sometimes I feel his music is just all technical skill and little soul, sort like when Eminem raps super fast with loads of multi-syllable rhymes- yes it's technically impressive and downright genius, but musically hard to listen to. However maybe my lack of formal music training means I can't really appreciate him properly. I do like his collabs with other artists tho and it's very clear that he absolutely loves music.

[Woffy]

28 minutes ago, Haan said:

Hard agree, sometimes I feel his music is just all technical skill and little soul, sort like when Eminem raps super fast with loads of multi-syllable rhymes- yes it's technically impressive and downright genius, but musically hard to listen to. However maybe my lack of formal music training means I can't really appreciate him properly. I do like his collabs with other artists tho and it's very clear that he absolutely loves music.

You've basically just summed up what jazz is to me!

[stuartbert two hats]

46 minutes ago, Haan said:

Hard agree, sometimes I feel his music is just all technical skill and little soul, sort like when Eminem raps super fast with loads of multi-syllable rhymes- yes it's technically impressive and downright genius, but musically hard to listen to. However maybe my lack of formal music training means I can't really appreciate him properly. I do like his collabs with other artists tho and it's very clear that he absolutely loves music.

He certainly talks a good talk about using music to convey emotion and not just using technique for the sake of it - but I'm not sure that if he's faced with the choice between an emotional truth or a musical technique that he can resist the technique.

Hopefully he'll calm down as he ages.  

[BlueDaze]

i have absolutely no ear for music... My drumkit sits in the garden house largely cobwebbed awaiting me to bash out something completely unrecognisable every so often..(so hopefully the philistine view you are looking for?)

The fella is obviously hugely talented and massively obsessive.. but i couldnt get further than halfway through any of those clips or others that i have seen...(someone must have punted him on here in the past?) without thinking.. "yeah, very clever... move on"

As to where he would play (for the farm is indeed a broad church).. i would think it would be the artists area out back of West Holts.. There would be plenty of eyes closed, beard stroking going on...

I myself prefer to stand in front of West Holts listening to tunes that i can almost move my feet and hands to in some sort of time.. (Hot Chip, Nile Rogers come to recent mind..)

[stuartbert two hats]

11 hours ago, BlueDaze said:

i have absolutely no ear for music... My drumkit sits in the garden house largely cobwebbed awaiting me to bash out something completely unrecognisable every so often..(so hopefully the philistine view you are looking for?)

The fella is obviously hugely talented and massively obsessive.. but i couldnt get further than halfway through any of those clips or others that i have seen...(someone must have punted him on here in the past?) without thinking.. "yeah, very clever... move on"

As to where he would play (for the farm is indeed a broad church).. i would think it would be the artists area out back of West Holts.. There would be plenty of eyes closed, beard stroking going on...

I myself prefer to stand in front of West Holts listening to tunes that i can almost move my feet and hands to in some sort of time.. (Hot Chip, Nile Rogers come to recent mind..)

😆😆😆 As I suspected.  There are plenty of musicians in front of the stage, albeit mostly not as successful as the ones behind!

I think you're probably right, he'd go down a right storm with all the W Holts musos!

[dizzymoo]

1 hour ago, stuartbert two hats said:

😆😆😆 As I suspected.  There are plenty of musicians in front of the stage, albeit mostly not as successful as the ones behind!

I think you're probably right, he'd go down a right storm with all the W Holts musos!

It would be pretty cool to find him wrangling a tune out of one of the random pianos around the site - think I saw one in the green fields area last time with a small but enthusiastic gathering round it.

[VolumetricFox]

His global tour finishes with a UK leg in 2022, concluding the week before Glastonbury.  What a lovely afternoon booking this would make.

[Somto Unigwe Raphael]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:28 PM, stuartbert two hats said:

This young man is extraordinary.  For pure musicianship, he puts the likes of Prince in the shade.  Multiple Grammy award winner, he's done things in music that have literally never been done before - using microtonal theory to change key by and tuning system in a way that sounds more in tune than normal harmonies.   It's all very complicated and I don't understand it.

 

This cover of All Night Long has about a section beginning at about 4:25 that does quite incredible things to the ears.

 

And this seemingly improvised cover of Fix You, whilst it has a slightly meandering section takes the Coldplay song through multiple keys in a way that strengthens the emotional message of the song (song starts 1 minute in).  It's quite beautiful.

 

Finally, this livestreamed duet with Chris Martin where Martin has to stop the song and make a comparison to Amadeus.

Never mind the fact that he could continue playing piano over the internet and not get distracted by Chris Martin seemingly being out of time - he just adjusted for the latency in his head and could still play in time.

A combination of extreme talent, hard work and being taught music from an early age by his musician family.  

So, despite all this, sometimes the music isn't all that great to listen to, despite it bursting with innovation and talent.  But no doubt, the man is crazy, crazy talented.  Could he play Glastonbury?  And if so, where?

Not exactly Foo Fighters is it 

[kalifire]

59 minutes ago, VolumetricFox said:

His global tour finishes with a UK leg in 2022, concluding the week before Glastonbury.  What a lovely afternoon booking this would make.

Could he also appear with Snarky Puppy, maybe? They've collaborated in the past.

23 minutes ago, Somto Unigwe Raphael said:

Not exactly Foo Fighters is it 

Thank Christ for that.

[Thunderstruck]

He's very talented, but he's not produced a lot of listenable stuff for me. Might be innovative but on the whole it's rather boring. 

[BambooShanks]

36 minutes ago, Thunderstruck said:

He's very talented, but he's not produced a lot of listenable stuff for me. Might be innovative but on the whole it's rather boring. 

He's very much a "musician's musician" and does a lot of things that causes chin stroking and appreciation of music theory.

Sometimes it can be so dense that it's impenetrable, sometimes (like his crowd interaction work) can result in beautiful moments.  I'm probably going to make an effort to go see him as I'm hoping his festival set will be a lot more accessible and enjoyable but if not, I'll end up geeking out over how he goes about reharmonisation much to the displeasure of the people around me

[Sawman]

Seen him before at a festival and he did not hold my interest at all -  personal opinion obvs 

[kalifire]

Saw him relatively recently and he was sublime. I found it much more accessible than his recorded stuff. 

[MrZigster]

Is he playing?