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Comment by andrei_says_ | Hacker News Reader

And then someone like Jacob Collier comes along and we don't know what to say anymore because language just does not apply to such a phenomenon.

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had to look this guy up and watched the video for "All Night Long". with audio only, this is pretty much just a sample-heavy jazz-pop cover that would be indistinguishable from just a regular multi-track recording.

i'm assuming what makes him special is his video approach where all the "samples" are shown as video clips of the musicians performing them. i'd probably describe the approach as "an actually talented version of pomplamoose"

not really my thing, but definitely interesting. thanks for the mini rabbithole

Jacob Collier is a legit next level musician. He does a lot of overdubbing of himself but he does other styles also. His recordings like Moon River and Flintstones are incredible both in terms of arrangement and performance. In a very different style, his Piano Ballads record is great, Let it Be is great on that one.

Totally understand if none if it is your style!

Seconded, regarding his cover of 'Moon River'. The harmony in the final three minutes is out of this world.

Though I wouldn't recommend watching the music video. It's a bit corny and distracting.

Jacob Collier won a grammy for each of his first four albums, has a massive following, is known for pushing the boundaries of practical application of music theory, and is well respected by musicians of every kind. There's a bit more to what makes him special than what can be reduced to a single gimmick or reductive comparison.

He leaves me totally cold. IMO he's very unmusical, like a guitar shredder but 100000x worse.

Collier has an impressive knowledge of music theory but for me music is about emotion and expression, and I’ve never been able to find much of either in his compositions or performances. Just my 2 cents.

I'm with you -- I find his dozen layer vocals unenjoyable. However, it can play many instruments really well. Here is a video from a jazz trio rehearsal though that I keep coming back to every few months simply because I enjoy the sausage being made. Keep in mind he was 19 or so at the time.

Anacona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIaL4Q1LnuA

I enjoyed that a lot, thanks. No doubt he’s massively talented. I do wonder if, just as it takes a certain amount of education to appreciate classical music, there might simply be a certain education or ear required to appreciate Jacob Collier that I lack.

an actually talented version of pomplamoose

I did not expect this at all.

He's clearly a musical genius and his ability to harmonise is beyond words.

However when I first listened to him, my reaction was "this is very impressive, but I don't know why, I just don't feel it". What struck me was that when I read up on him a bit more, that was a pretty common reaction among people.

I don't really have the words to describe any of this. There's just something missing there. Soul. Which is a strange thing to say, because he probably does pour his heart & soul into his songs.

I hear you - some pieces are overly… technical.

Some others however are full of emotion and definitely include soul.

His joy of music is infectious.

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