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Comment by arrakeen | Hacker News Reader

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

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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.

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.

an actually talented version of pomplamoose

I did not expect this at all.

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