2018 · Album
Djesse Vol. 2
Membran Records · Produced by Jacob Collier · Released: 19 July 2019
Afternoon Light: Jacob Collier's Expanding Vision
Collier builds intricate arrangements that somehow feel both controlled and spontaneous at once.
Djesse Vol. 2 arrived in July 2019 as the second installment of Jacob Collier's four-part project, each volume tied to a different time of day. This one represents the afternoon—the working hours, the productive stretch. It's Collier's third studio album overall, and by this point he'd already proven he could handle complexity without drowning in it. Vol. 2 doesn't simplify things, but it does something smarter: it lets you hear the architecture underneath the busy surface.
What makes this album distinct is how Collier uses space. The arrangements are packed with detail, but they breathe. You get strings, horns, layered vocals, and his own piano and guitar work, yet tracks don't collapse under their own weight. There's a playfulness here that keeps things from feeling overstuffed. Collier's approach to harmony is still unconventional—he's not interested in standard jazz changes—but the melodic sensibility is strong enough that you can follow him even when the chords get strange. The production is clean without being sterile, which matters because these arrangements would sound terrible if they weren't recorded well.
If you're new to Collier, this isn't necessarily the entry point—his earlier work might be more immediately inviting. But if you've already caught his energy and want to see how far he can push things while keeping songs intact, Vol. 2 is exactly that. It's the album where he sounds most confident in his own voice, less concerned with showing off and more focused on what actually works. It's solid, clever, and rewarding if you're willing to listen closely.
