Jacob Collier - "Djesse: Vol. 4" Experience

JACOB COLLIER “DJESSE VOL. 4” LAUNCH | 2024

The world we built

Jacob Collier has a mind like no other. Through the years, he has been given titles such as “your favorite musician’s favorite musician” and “the Mozart of Gen Z”. These monikers are well deserved, as we discovered first-hand what it was like to briefly live in the mind of musical genius.

For the past 7 years, Jacob has been hard at work on a multi-Grammy award-winmning quadruple album project called “DJESSE”. Jacob’s goal in creating this sprawling musical epic was to tell a far-reaching story of the many facets of the human condition.

With the final album, “Djesse: Vol. 4” due to launch on February 29, 2024 (leapyear day), we were contacted by Jacob’s manager, Michael Peha, President of Early Hour Entertainment, to craft something special and truly celebrate the journey of Djesse.

With only 3 short weeks to put things into motion, we set out to build an electic, colorful, and highly immersive Jacobian wonderland. The concept - from beginning to end - was always, “bring Jacob’s mind into the real world and give guests a way to exist alongside him”.

Concept & ideation

One of our first challenges to overcome was…how do we translate this man’s mind from symphonic experience to live event? We knew that colors, shapes, and a sense of playfulness would be key to shaping the experience into a Jacobian setting.

Jacob was determined to include all of the colors which represent his albums and songs. He didn’t mind if everything clashed, in fact he preferred it. This created a fantastic puzzle for us to solve - how do you craft a consistent design narrative whilst honoring the client’s desire to see an eclectic event?

Additionally, our team needed to provide separate creative for the event’s main sponsor, “Labs.Google”. This would require a separate space from the main event and would need to feel different enough to stand alone, but similar enough to not feel out of place.

We ended up striking the balance by separating each area into very distintive zones, almost like the beats of a story. It was only in the courtyard, “Djesse’s Garden, did we throw ALL of the color and shapes and songs together.

Fabrication & SCENIC DESIGN

With 14 unique activations across 7 partitioned spaces, it was abundanctly clear from the get-go that fabrication and scenic design would factor in heavily to the success of the event.

The Step & Repeat alone went through 10 different iterations, each based around a specific nod to Jacob’s breath of work. The final design was the hardest to get approved, as the client really wanted to feature specifically colored logos…which doesn’t always go over well with sponsors!

To further establish the drastic use of color in our space, we partnered with the design queens at ‘Corrie in Color’ to hang and install hundreds of feet of lights, paper lanterns, wind chimes, and objects in the Box of Stars Walkway.

After passing the “WELLLL” inspired Crocs Valet, guests crossed a rainbow-tassle threshold to enter the sanctum of Vol. 1, 2, and 3. Each album’s cover art was printed at 8’H x 8’W with unique carpet color leading to each print, and featured 3D scenic elements spilling over into the real world. This same building also featured two interactive areas in the “Logic Session Den” and the “Audience Choir Cave”.

Finally, the astral-glam themed future living room by ‘Labs.Google’ was given prime positioning at the end of this room. We wrapped Google’s entre space in irridescent mylar and used sonic-reactive lighting elements to bring the vibe to life.

Outside, “Djesse’s Garden” sported the final blast of color. The centerpiece was a “WELLLL”-inspired circular bar, with carpet pathways leading guests to different activaitons. There was a Lucid Motors x Dolby Atmos listening experience, a sound studio that featured 8 life-size jibbets and the Dustin Yellin artwork from “Vol. 4”…but the biggest hit was the “Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Meta-Gong” game, where guests could attempt to strike a gong with a mallet as if they were Jacob on stage!

end result

With the Day 1 (Feb. 28) slated to be “Media & VIP Night”, we anxiously awaited to see if invited artists like Tori Kelly, Shawn Mendes, Jojo, Lawrence, Brandi Carlile, and Chris Martin, would be in attendance. Luckily for us, guests were lined up down the street to get in and one hour in the place was absolutely packed to the brim!

Over the course of the next 4 hours, we were thrilled to watch the guests interact with all the different areas just as we had hoped. And our clients were just over the moon with joy! Both the President of Early Hour Entertainment and the Director of Special Events at Interscope Records made sure to tell us that the event far exceeded their expectations.

As for Jacob Collier, the most important reviewer of all, what was his take on the evening? Well, he gave us an extra special shoutout after perorming at the end of the night:

“You’ve been the chief architect of this crazy event of ours. You’ve enabled so many of my weird fever dreams to spring into reality. It’s kind of amazing seeing you and your team at work - watching your very open mind fulfill all sorts of strange fantasies…Thank you so much for your intensely, immensely hard work and let’s do another one soon.”

May we only be so lucky for the chance to work with you again, Jacob Collier. Until then, all we can say is thank you for trusting us. Thank you for taking a chance on us to bring your cooky, eclectic, and colorful worlds to life.