Djesse Vol. 4 Explained
| Djesse Vol. 4 |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jacob Collier |
| Cover: | File:Djesse Vol 4 album cover.jpg |
| Alt: | Inside a glass box, thousands of tiny pictures come together to form the shape of a human head |
| Released: | 29 February 2024 |
| Length: | 69:17 |
| Label: | Hajanga |
| Producer: | Jacob Collier |
| Prev Title: | Djesse Vol. 3 |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
Djesse Vol. 4 is the fifth studio album by English musician Jacob Collier, released on 29 February 2024. The album is the fourth and final instalment in the Djesse series, which began in 2018 with Djesse Vol. 1.
Background
Jacob Collier first become known for publishing arrangements of popular songs on YouTube in which he performed multiple instruments and layered vocal harmonies. American record producer Quincy Jones contacted Collier after the release of his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" (1974) in 2013, eventually assuming management of his career. Collier recorded and produced his debut album In My Room (2016) independently. The album was met with a positive reception, including two Grammy Awards. NPR's Ari Shapiro describes Djesse Vol. 4 as the "culmination" of the four-album series starting with Djesse Vol. 1 (2018).
Promotion and singles
"Never Gonna Be Alone," featuring Lizzy McAlpine and John Mayer, was released on 10 June 2022; it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals. The song was later revealed to be the first single off Collier's upcoming project Djesse Vol. 4.
"Wellll", the second single, was released on July 14, 2023, alongside a music video featuring Collier on a custom five-string electric guitar. "Little Blue," featuring Brandi Carlile, the third single, was released on September 21, 2023, with its music video. The fourth single, "Wherever I Go", features Lawrence and Michael McDonald and was released on 27 October 2023. The fifth single, "Witness Me", was released on 21 November 2023 and features Shawn Mendes, Stormzy, and Kirk Franklin.
Two new singles were released in early 2024. The sixth single, "Spanish; Castilian: italic=no|Mi Corazón", featuring Camilo, was released on 19 January 2024. The final single, "Bridge over Troubled Water", featuring vocals by John Legend and Tori Kelly, was released on 22 February. It is a cover of the song of the same name by Simon & Garfunkel, and features uncredited vocals from Yebba.
Tour
Collier has announced a North American tour to promote the album, which will be playing from April to June 2024.
Reception
Sputnikmusic reported that Djesse Vol. 4 had received unusually divided reactions from audiences; while some listeners applauded the musical proficiency displayed on the work, others shared feelings of "visceral disgust". A Times reviewer commented on the talent Collier shows by combining several genres on the record, but felt that it "begins to feel like showing off" and loses its "charm" through excess. The Observer Ammar Kalia also noted the wide range of genres represented on the album. Though he felt the dense production could overwhelm many listeners, Kalia found the record "invigorating and irrepressible".
Track listing
All tracks are written and produced by Jacob Collier, except where noted.
Notes
- "100,000 Voices" and "Box of Stars Pt. 1" contains a sample of "Ovdoviala Lissitchkata" by Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir.
- "Wellll" is stylized in all caps.
- "Never Gonna Be Alone" contains a sample of "In Too Deep (Acoustic Version)" by Jacob Collier.
- "Bridge over Troubled Water" is a cover of the song of the same title by Simon & Garfunkel. A previous recording of the song by Yebba is included on the track, but she requested to remain uncredited.
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes and TIDAL.
Additional musicians
- Moulay Abdekrim Alaalaoui – background vocals and krakebs
- Lydia Acquah – handclaps, gang vocals
- The Aeolians of Oakwood University 2018 – choir
- Alaysia Bookal, Aleigha Durand, Allayna O'Quinn, Andre Smith, Asriel Davis, Asya Bookal, Briana Marshall, Carl Reed, Celine Sylvester, Chad Lupoe, Charles Wallington, Chesroleeysia Bobb, Cleavon Davis, Cole Henry, Dominique DeAbreu, Haley Flemons, Hector Jordan, Holland Sampson, JoPaul Scavella, Jonathan Mills, Jourdan Bardo, Kashea Whyte, Keviez Wilson, Kobe Brown, Kristin Hall, Leonard Brown, Lincoln Liburd, Louis Cleare, Maia Foster, Malia Ewen, Malik George, Malik Mchayle, Marc Simons, Marissa Wright, Matthew Cordner, Mykel Robinson-Collins, Naomi Parchment, Natrickie Louissant, Patricia Williams, Roddley Point Du Jour, Samara Bowden, Samella Carryl, Terell Francis-Clarke, Zarren Bennett
- Maia Agnes – Filipino/Tagalog spoken word
- Arch Echo – guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums
- Adam Bentley, Adam Rafowitz, Joe Calderone, Joey Izzo, Richie Martinez
- Aespa (Winter, Karina, Giselle, and Ning Ning) – vocals
- Audience Choirs from The Djesse World Tour 2022 – choir
- Sydney, Paris, Vienna, Cologne, Amsterdam, Munich, Utrecht, Auckland, Santiago de Compostela, Barcelona, Madrid, Stockholm, Bristol, Berlin, Oslo, Luxembourg
- Regina Averion – gang vocals
- Awich – spoken word
- Prerana Balcham – Tamil spoken word
- Felipe Baldauf – handclaps, gang vocals
- Erin Bentlage – gang vocals
- Charlotte Blaudeck – German spoken word
- Ben Bloomberg – handclaps, gang vocals
- Wahid Boudjeltia – background vocals and krakebs
- Abdelhak Bounhar – background vocals and krakebs
- Camilo – lead and background vocals, frog guiro, mouth harp, tiple, and whistling
- Brandi Carlile – vocals
- Stian Carstensen – pedal steel
- Tereza Catarov – handclaps, gang vocals
- Li-Chin Chang (張立勤) – Traditional Chinese spoken word
- Tom Chichester-Clark – handclaps, gang vocals
- Jordan Cohen – tenor saxophone, background vocals
- Sophie Collier – background vocals
- Suzie Collier – orchestra conductor
- Madison Cunningham – lead vocals
- Mario Daisson – handclaps, gang vocals
- Dapul – Filipino/Tagalog spoken word
- Pat Davey – handclaps, gang vocals
- Dhol Academy – Dhol drumming ensemble
- Harjodh Singh Assi, Jasdeep Singh Bamrah, Taran Singh Bedi
- The Diner – additional horn arrangements
- Shay Dyer-Harris – handclaps, gang vocals
- Emily Elbert – gang vocals
- Adam Fell – gang vocals
- Jason Max Ferdinand – choir conductor and piano
- Kirk Franklin – choir direction and additional vocal arrangements
- Kirk Franklin Singers – background vocals
- Ariel Campbell, Billy Mitchell, Carla Williams, Connie Johnson, Demarcus Williams, Drea Randle, Eboni Ellerson-Williams, Emerald Campbell, Ja'Quoi Griffin, Josiah Martin, Minon Bolton, Rachel Clifton, Sanesia Tillman, Stephanie Archer, Trent Shelby, Zebulon Ellis
- Sara Gazarek – gang vocals
- Nathan Greer – Turkish spoken word
- Alex Guitierrez – gang vocals
- Francesca Haincourt – background vocals and gang vocals
- Ondrej Hanák – Czech spoken word
- Neda Imamverdi – Farsi spoken word
- Ben Jones – electric guitar
- Juliette Jouan – French spoken word
- JNY – spoken word
- Hamid El Kasri – guembri Katrin – spoken word
- Jay Kavanagh – Spanish spoken word
- Tori Kelly – lead vocals
- Jonny Koh – guitar
- Kont – spoken word
- Kpoobari Saana Kpoobari-Ereba – Gokana spoken word
- John Lampley – trumpet
- Clyde Lawrence – lead vocals, background vocals
- Gracie Lawrence – lead and background vocals
- Jim Le Mesurier – percussion
- Yuri Lee – Korean spoken word
- John Legend – lead vocals
- Ryan Lerman – gang vocals
- Jang Li (站起來) – Taiwanese spoken word
- Lindsey Lomis – lead and background vocals
- David Longstreth – gang vocals
- Stevie Mackey – gang vocals
- Francesco Marcheselli – Italian spoken word
- Feu Marinho – handclaps, gang vocals
- Chris Martin – lead and background vocals
- Kanyi Mavi – spoken word
- John Mayer – electric guitar solo
- Lizzy McAlpine – lead and background vocals
- Michael McDonald – lead and background vocals
- Magnus Mehta – percussion
- Shawn Mendes – lead and background vocals
- Metropole Orkest – orchestra
- David Peijnenborgh, Denis Koenders, Ewa Zbyszynska, Jasper van Rosmalen, Kilian van Rooij, Leonid Nikishin, Merel Jonker, Pauline Terlouw, Ruben Margarita, Sarah Koch, Thomas Gould, Vera Laporeva, Willem Kok, Xaquín Carro Cribeiro – violin
- Alex Welch, Isabella Petersen, Julia Jowett, Mieke Honingh, Wouter Huizinga – viola
- Annie Tangberg, Geneviève Verhage, Jascha Albracht, Joel Siepmann, Susanne Rosmolen – cello
- Arend Liefkes, Erik Winkelmann – double bass
- Janine Abbas, Mariël van den Bos – flute, piccolo
- Maxime le Minter – oboe
- David Kweksilber – clarinet
- Leo Janssen, Marc Scholten, Paul van der Feen, Sjoerd Dijkhuizen – saxophone
- Diechje Minne, Pieter Hunfeld – French horn
- Nico Schepers, Ray Bruinsma, Rik Mol – trumpet
- Jan Bastiani, Maarten Combrink, Marc Godfroid – trombone
- David Kutz, Ries Schellekens – tuba
- Joke Schonewille – harp
- Martina Mihulkova – handclaps, gang vocals
- Mopiano – spoken word
- Abderrazak Moustaqim – background vocals and krakebs
- Robin Mullarkey – electric bass
- Naezy – spoken word
- Barbara Obremska – Polish spoken word
- Adam Osmianski – handclaps, gang vocals
- Ivan Ormond – percussion
- Chris Ott – trombone
- David Pattman – percussion
- Akrivi Pavlidou – Greek spoken word
- Robin Pecknold – gang vocals
- Michael Peha – gang vocals
- DáSa Pokorny – Slovak spoken word
- Na La Takadia Praminta Putri – Indonesian spoken word
- Emma Quaedvlieg – Serbian spoken word
- Jessie Reyez – spoken word, Spanish spoken word
- Jakub Rokosz – handclaps, gang vocals
- Jordan Rose – drums
- Daniel Rotem – gang vocals
- John Ryan – drums
- Patricia S-Thomas – Swahili spoken word
- Oumou Sangaré – background vocals
- Barak Schmool – percussion, handclaps, gang vocals
- Konstantin Selyansky – Russian spoken word
- Seema Seraj – gang vocals
- Willow Smith – scream vocals
- Lennon Stella – background vocals
- Stormzy – lead vocals and spoken word
- Steve Vai – electric guitar
- Valas – spoken word
- Sus Vasquez – electric guitar
- Varijashree Venugopal – featured vocals, background vocals
- Voces8 – choir
- Noah Wang – Mandarin spoken word
- Sam Wilkes – gang vocals
- Remi Wolf – background vocals
- Yebba – vocals
- Zakwe – spoken word
- Kasia Zielinska – handclaps, gang vocals
Additional technical personnel
