U.K. musician and five-time Grammy winner Jacob Collier, one of the world’s most acclaimed musicians and also one-quarter Chinese, devotes himself to using the power of the universal language of music to bring people across the world together while gaining inspiration from Chinese culture and traditions.

At a studio in East London ahead of the release of his new song “Witness Me” and forthcoming album “Djesse Vol. 4” set for Feb. 29, 2024, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist said: “It’s a very exciting moment. I’ve been working on this song and this album for a long time, many years actually.”

Collier released his latest single “Witness Me” on Nov. 21 which features British rap titan Stormzy, Canadian superstar singer Shawn Mendes, 19-time Grammy-winning gospel singer Kirk Franklin, and a choir of 5,000 voices.

“I started to write ‘Witness Me’ in 2021 with my good friend Shawn Mendes. He is a very golden person. When we met, we talked a lot about how important music can be as a remedy for the world, and how much more powerful music can be when many people do it together,” Collier said.

“The song is about a group rather than about an individual. It’s really about togetherness, forgiveness, observation and empathy. There has never been a more important time for these principles in the world than right now,” he added.

Collier was the first British artist to receive a Grammy for each of his first four albums. His mixture of jazz, R&B, a cappella, gospel and groove has created a genre able to transcend cultures around the world. He has also gone viral on social media for his videos, in which he transforms his audience into spontaneous choirs across hundreds of shows around the globe.

“Last year when I toured around the world, I recorded in all these venues to build a choir for the album, a 100,000-voice choir,” he said. “The sound of this, I can’t describe it. It’s the most human feeling I’ve ever experienced. It’s like a wall of humanity. From the first moment of the album to the last minute, you have a 100,000-voice choir permeating the music. For me, that feels like what life is all about,” he said.

The 29-year-old musical prodigy and London native is partly of Chinese descent through his maternal grandmother. “Every time I landed in China, I always felt like part of me was coming home because I am one-quarter Chinese. I’m very proud of that. The way that people operate in China is so different from here in London. But in other ways, it’s just the same,” Collier noted.

Last month, he staged a performance at the Shanghai Jazz Festival which he called “a miraculous show.” “The audience was so energetic, so loving, and so full of life and energy. Hearing the audience choir so far from home was a really remarkable sensation for me, and I was very proud to offer that to those beautiful people over there.”

Collier also stressed that he found inspiration in Chinese culture and traditions, saying “China is extremely powerful now in the world. There are so many extraordinary ideas and technologies and ancient traditions that live there and were born there. As someone who comes from London, I’ve always really revered many elements of Chinese culture. I was brought up with Chinese medicine, and it’s a really big part of my life.”

He went on: “China is a mammoth source of inspiration and innovation. I’d love to spend more time there as a musician, and really get underneath the surface of what makes those souls stir.”

After spending years creating at home, Collier went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Purcell School for Young Musicians, where he studied jazz piano.

The artist highlighted that he is on a mission to unite people around the globe through common humanity and build bridges across cultures and civilizations.

“Music moves across borders and barriers. It opens people up rather than closes them down. It’s the most extraordinary catalyst for people to come together for each other,” he stressed. (Xinhua)