2018 · Album
Djesse Vol. 3
Recorded 2019–2020 · Reprise Records / Decca Records · Produced by Jacob Collier
Night Music Built From the Ground Up
Collier throws everything at the wall on Vol. 3, and most of it sticks.
Jacob Collier has always been the kind of musician who makes other musicians slightly nervous — the guy who taught himself every instrument, who understands harmony at a level that would make most conservatory graduates feel underprepared. Djesse Vol. 3, released in August 2020 as the third installment in his four-volume Djesse project, leans into the darker, more electric side of his personality. NPR pegged this volume as the 'night' chapter of the series, and that framing holds up. Where the earlier volumes had more acoustic warmth and choral grandeur, Vol. 3 feels more urban, more restless — R&B grooves, processed vocals, beats that hit harder than anything he'd put his name on before.
The album pulls in an impressive roster of collaborators, and for the most part they sharpen rather than dilute what Collier is doing. The production is dense but deliberate — he is not showing off for its own sake, even when it feels like he could be. Tracks like 'He Won't Hold You' and 'All I Need' have actual pop instincts underneath all the harmonic complexity, which is a harder trick to pull off than it sounds. He is not hiding the craft, but he's not letting it get in the way of a good song either.
Is it a perfect album? Not quite. There are moments where the ambition outruns the emotional payoff, and a few tracks feel like they needed one more round of editing. But as the third act of a genuinely ambitious multi-album project — one that takes its title from Collier's own initials — Vol. 3 does what it needs to do. It holds your attention, it surprises you, and it makes the case that he is building toward something real.
Who's playing
MonoNeonelectric bass guitar
James Copusflugelhorn
