You Are More Like Grammy-Winner Jacob Collier Than You Think
Feb 4, 2025
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Jacob Collier, a Grammy-winning musician, is celebrated for his innovative, immersive performances that transform audiences into choirs. In this conversation, he explores the balance between structure and spontaneity in music creation. Collier shares how collaboration and emotional understanding nurture artistic expression. He emphasizes the joy of blending diverse genres and recounts personal experiences that shaped his journey. Plus, delve into the chaos of creativity and how it drives innovation in his work.
Jacob Collier exemplifies modern creativity by merging established musical structures with spontaneous audience participation, fostering a unique communal experience.
The cyclical interplay between chaos and order in creativity reveals that true innovation flourishes when artists embrace both breaking and building concepts.
Music serves as an emotional outlet, where personal feelings significantly inform artistic expression, transforming musical experiences into powerful reflections of life.
Deep dives
The Concept of Arrival and Departure in Music
The notion of musical 'arrival' and 'departure' is explored, suggesting that music functions as a home within a specific key, such as F. While one can branch out to different keys and musical experiences, returning to the original key provides a feeling of familiarity and comfort. This sense of home allows musicians to enhance their creativity by adding emotional depth, tension, and resolution to their music. The speaker emphasizes that the joy of music lies in creating satisfying tensions followed by their resolution, reflecting life's own complexities.
Creativity as Duality: Breaking and Building
Creativity is presented as a dual process of both breaking and building, suggesting that true innovation often requires subverting existing structures while simultaneously creating new ideas. Jacob Collier embodies this concept through his unique ability to turn everyday experiences and interactions into musical expressions. Notably, he engages audiences in his performances, transforming them into a collective musical force, illustrating how creativity can be a communal experience. This duality of breaking down and building up reflects the fluid nature of artistic expression.
The Importance of Emotional Expression in Music
The discussion highlights how music serves as an emotional outlet, with personal feelings influencing creativity. Rather than ascribing to the stereotype of tortured artists, the conversation posits that healthy emotional expression can lead to genuine creativity. This connection between personal emotions and artistic output exemplifies how exploring one's feelings can result in meaningful and transformative musical experiences. The power of music to reflect and resolve emotional turmoil positions it as a crucial part of the artist's journey.
Audience as Essential Partners in Creativity
The role of the audience in the creative process is underscored, with listeners being considered as active participants in music-making. Jacob shares a transformative experience of guiding an audience to create harmonies together, demonstrating that collective participation can yield extraordinary musical outcomes. By understanding the innate musicality within everyone, he taps into shared emotional experiences to create harmony among diverse groups. This interaction fosters a sense of community and highlights the importance of shared creativity in enhancing musical performance.
The Cyclical Nature of Creativity and Mastery
The cyclical relationship between chaos and order within the creative process is examined, suggesting that true creativity thrives in the tension between these two states. Mastery in music, as in other art forms, can lead to stagnation if one becomes too rigid in technique. Therefore, the creative process involves breaking down established norms to access new ideas, while simultaneously finding structures that allow for exploration. This dynamic approach ensures artists remain engaged and continually discover new expressions within their craft.
To create something truly original, do we build something new or break what came before? Perhaps the answer is both—simultaneously.
Jacob Collier does exactly that. A brilliant songwriter and musician, he’s known for transforming his live audiences into massive three-part choirs, making music with the very people who attend his concerts. His album Djesse Volume 4 was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards, alongside icons like Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift. Although Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter won, Jacob snagged his seventh Grammy for his rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
I sat down with him in a music studio a few days before the Grammys, surrounded by multiple pianos, and it was a joy to hear him play. Jacob’s approach to music—blending structure with spontaneity—offers insights into creativity that are as inspiring as his sound.
