Some musicians master their instruments, and others redefine genres. And then there’s Jacob Collier, who somehow seems to exist in a category entirely of his own. To call him a genius has almost become cliché, but that’s only because nobody has quite managed to invent a better word.
For those of us who have spent the last decade falling further and further down the wonderfully kaleidoscopic rabbit hole of Jacob Collier’s musical universe, In My Room wasn’t simply a debut album; it was the beginning of something extraordinary. It was the sound of a young artist tearing up every rulebook, gleefully ignoring every boundary between genres, and proving that one person, armed with curiosity, imagination and an almost incomprehensible understanding of music, could create entire worlds from a single room in North London.
Ten years later, In My Room hasn’t lost a single ounce of its magic; if anything, it sounds even more remarkable now. To celebrate the anniversary, Fontana/Hajanga released In My Room 10 on July 1, a deluxe edition arriving exactly ten years after the original release. Alongside the complete original album comes an entire second disc packed with twelve previously unheard recordings, demos, voice memos, live performances and newly recorded material. Rather than feeling like a collection of leftovers, these recordings offer something far more precious: a chance to step inside the mind of one of the most fascinating musicians of our generation while his extraordinary musical language was still taking shape.
It’s difficult to overstate just how astonishing In My Room felt when it first appeared. At a time when so much music was becoming increasingly polished by committees, producers and endless studio sessions, here was one 21-year-old musician who had quietly disappeared into the music room of his family home and emerged having written, arranged, recorded, performed and produced an album entirely on his own. Every harmony, bass line, piano flourish, vocal stack, impossibly intricate rhythm and breathtaking moment came from one endlessly curious mind. The result wasn’t simply impressive, it was revelatory.
Listening to In My Room feels like opening the door to someone else’s imagination. Jacob Collier doesn’t hear harmony the way most musicians do. He bends it, stretches it, colours it in impossible shades before somehow making it all sound completely natural. Chords bloom like fireworks. Melodies refuse to travel where you expect them to and rhythms dance around each other with effortless elegance. It’s one of those rare albums that seems literally impossible to exhaust. No matter how many times you return to it, there’s always another surprise waiting.
Of course, before In My Room became an award-winning debut, there was YouTube. Millions discovered Jacob through videos that seemed almost impossible to comprehend. Multi-screen performances and jaw-dropping reharmonisations with mind-bending arrangements that left musicians pausing videos every few seconds simply to ask, “Wait… how did he do that?” The internet had seen prodigies before but Jacob Collier felt different. There was no ego or showmanship for the sake of it, just an infectious delight in discovering what music could do. That sense of limitless curiosity remains his greatest gift.
It’s why Quincy Jones famously declared, “I have never in my life seen a talent like this. Absolutely mind-blowing.” Coming from one of the greatest producers in history, it felt like the ultimate stamp of approval, looking back now, it also feels wonderfully prophetic. In My Room wasn’t the peak, it was the starting line.
The album earned Collier his first two Grammy Awards, with “Flintstones” winning Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals and “You & I” taking Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella. But the trophies almost feel secondary to the influence the album has had. Over the last decade, Jacob has become one of the defining musical voices of his generation not because he chases trends, but because he seems completely uninterested in them. Instead, he creates music that feels like pure possibility.
Across the monumental Djesse series, collaborations with everyone from Coldplay and John Mayer to SZA, Stormzy, Kirk Franklin, Anoushka Shankar and the legendary Joni Mitchell, sold-out arena tours and the now iconic audience choirs that transform thousands of strangers into one enormous singing instrument, Jacob has built a career unlike anybody else’s. Through it all, he’s never lost the sense of wonder that made In My Room so special, which is why this anniversary release feels so significant.
The newly unearthed recordings don’t simply document a young musician finding his feet; they reveal someone already overflowing with ideas. Among the highlights are early interpretations of “But Not For Me” and “Georgia On My Mind,” the extraordinary 3:30am voice memo where the first tiny fragments of “Hideaway” begin to emerge, and perhaps most emotionally affecting of all, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” where today’s Collier performs alongside a recording of himself at thirteen years old. It’s not a gimmick. It’s moving a conversation across time between the artist he was and the artist he became. Then there’s the newly recorded solo piano version of “In My Room,” which feels quietly reflective, almost like returning home after an extraordinary journey. He describes these recordings as his “building blocks”, the sketches, experiments and ideas that taught him who he wanted to become as an artist. You can hear that sense of discovery in every note. There’s vulnerability here alongside the virtuosity, reminding us that even the most astonishing musicians begin by experimenting, questioning and following their curiosity wherever it leads.
That’s perhaps what makes Jacob Collier so endlessly inspiring. For all the conversations about microtones, impossible harmonies, polyrhythms and dazzling musicianship, his music never feels academic. It feels joyful, generous and playful. Behind all the breathtaking complexity is someone who simply loves music with every fiber of his being and invites everyone else to love it with him. Whether he’s conducting ten thousand people into spontaneous harmony inside an arena, sitting alone at a piano, or layering hundreds of vocal lines inside a tiny room in North London, that childlike excitement has never disappeared.
In many ways, In My Room still remains the perfect introduction to Jacob Collier because it captures the moment before the world caught up with him. Listening back now is like hearing the first pages of a novel when you already know the ending is spectacular. Ten years on, the album remains dazzling. The new anniversary edition is warm, intimate and wonderfully revealing, offering fans the chance not only to revisit a modern masterpiece but to witness the creative spark before it became a phenomenon.
Some artists release great debut albums. Jacob Collier introduced an entirely new musical universe and somehow, ten years later, he’s still only getting started.
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Words: Persephone Quarme
Photography: Theo Batteram