Go With Elmo: Jacob Collier on World-Building, Musical Innovation, and Following Your Goosebumps #59
Everything You Need to Know
Go With Elmo, hosted by Elmo Lovano, is known for its insightful and uplifting conversations with musicians, creators, and culture shapers. In this episode, Elmo sits down for an in-depth chat with the multitalented, six-time Grammy Award winner, Jacob Collier. If you’re a music lover or just someone intrigued by the art of creativity, this is a must listen episode.
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About the Guest: Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier is a British musician, composer, and producer, renowned for his groundbreaking harmonies, inventive arrangements, and energetic live performances. With six Grammy wins and 15 nominations (including recent nods for Album of the Year and two other categories for his newest album “Djesse Volume 4”), Jacob represents a new generation of musicians who blur genre lines and bring communities together through sound. His journey from making music in his childhood room in London to collaborating with global icons is both inspiring and instructive.
Episode Summary
Elmo kicks off the episode by lauding Jacob’s accomplishments, including his meteoric Grammy career and completion of the ambitious four-part “Jesse” album series. The two dive deep into Jacob’s philosophy of “world-building,” creativity, collaboration, and the spiritual and practical sides of music-making. Throughout the episode, Jacob shares stories about his creative process, his relationship with legendary mentors Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock, and his approach to live performance as communal experience.
The Art and Philosophy of World-Building
The heart of the conversation lies in Jacob’s philosophy about “world-building”—an idea that creativity isn’t just about art, but about constructing entire universes, both inner and outer. Reflecting on his childhood, Jacob describes how his earliest experiments with world-building began in his bedroom, which he transformed into a haven for curiosity, music, and self-discovery. That room, he explains, became both a literal and metaphorical anchor, shaping how he approaches everything—from songwriting to life.
Key Takeaway:
“Where you put your attention, things start to grow. That’s where the ultimate worlds are built,” Jacob shares. He believes anyone can be a world-builder by focusing their time and attention on crafting their own reality, one intentional choice at a time.
Making “Jesse Volume 4” and the Evolution of Creation
Having completed four volumes of his “Jesse” series, Jacob reflects on how the journey has taken him from the solitude of “In My Room” to a global adventure, collaborating with an extraordinary community of artists and orchestras—all while never losing sight of his roots.
Jacob describes “Jesse Volume 4” as both a culmination and an expansion, integrating over 100 collaborators, 22 languages, and even the participation of his live audiences. The album’s opener, “100,000 Voices,” is a sonic tapestry created from actual audience recordings and musicians around the world.
Key Takeaway:
The room where Jacob’s musical world began has become a metaphor—he now carries its energy and openness wherever he creates.
Surprising Listeners and Pushing Boundaries
One of the episode’s standout moments is Jacob’s discussion of “100,000 Voices” and its unexpected metal-inspired ending featuring Willow. Jacob says he’s “obsessed with surprise in music,” aiming to catch listeners off-guard and take them on a journey they didn’t expect. His collaboration with progressive metal band Arch Echo and Willow’s unique approach to screaming vocals exemplify Jacob’s willingness to blend genres and challenge the status quo.
Fun Fact:
Jacob reveals how Willow multi-tracked her screaming vocals like harmonies, creating a three-dimensional wall of sound—demonstrating the fearless experimentation that characterizes his work.
Grammy-Winning Arrangements: Process and Perspective
Jacob is often hailed as “king of the arrangements,” and with good reason—he’s been nominated and won in Grammy arranging categories an incredible six times. He explains that re-imagining classic songs, like his nominated version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (featuring Tori Kelly, John Legend, and, sampled, Yebba), allows him to explore the tension between audience expectation and creative innovation.
Key Takeaway:
He stresses the importance of maintaining the “first idea” and not overworking music until it loses its vitality: “Sometimes the longer I work on something, the more it dies…your first idea has so much life in it.”
Connection, Community, and the Power of the Audience
Live performance, for Jacob, isn’t one-way; it’s a collaborative act between musician and audience. His concerts often feature large-scale “audience choirs” where thousands of fans sing harmonies under his direction—a practice inspired by watching his mother conduct orchestras. These moments, he says, transcend musical ability, inviting everyone to contribute to the experience.
His recent tours have brought this concept to arenas, scaling up the community aspect and reinforcing the notion that music is for everyone.
Key Takeaway:
Jacob finds that dissolving the boundaries between artist and audience transforms concerts into authentic shared experiences, rooted in joy, openness, and connection.
Mentorship, Legacy, and Following Your Goosebumps
One of the most moving parts of the episode is Jacob’s reflection on his mentors, especially Quincy Jones, whose encouragement came before Jacob truly believed in himself. Quincy’s mantra—“play it, don’t say it”—reminds Jacob to keep the focus on creation rather than discussion. The deep support of mentors like Quincy and Herbie Hancock has not only shaped his career but instilled a responsibility to pass that legacy of encouragement forward.
Key Takeaway:
Jacob urges listeners to “follow your goosebumps.” The things that thrill and inspire you are your truest guides, both in art and life.
The Essence of Creativity: Time, Attention, and Experience
In the closing segment, Jacob distills his worldview into a simple but profound idea: our two greatest currencies are time and attention. Where we invest these, our worlds grow, and what we attend to shapes not just our art, but our lives. He highlights the importance of choosing where to invest attention—reminding us of the many forces vying for it, from social media to societal expectations.
Key Takeaway:
Where you put your attention, you build your world. The best gift you can give in return for others’ attention is to create genuine, valuable experiences—be it music, conversation, or simple presence.
Final Thoughts
This episode of Go With Elmo is a masterclass in creativity, empathy, and artistic courage. Jacob Collier not only shares the nuts and bolts of his process but gives listeners a window into the spiritual and philosophical drives behind his success. If you’re curious about pushing creative boundaries, leading with vulnerability, or simply crafting a more meaningful life, Jacob’s words provide guidance as inspiring as his music.
Take a listen, and let your goosebumps lead you.
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