“There’s no such thing as ‘Album of the Year’ – someone made that up”: Jacob Collier doesn’t mind that he didn’t win a Grammy for his album, Djesse Vol. 4This year, Jacob Collier added a seventh Grammy to his trophy shelf, bagging the award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, for Bridge over Troubled Water. His latest record, Djesse Vol. 4, was also up for Album of the Year – despite the fact it never even charted.
It’s Collier’s second time being nominated for Album of the Year, with 2021’s Djesse Vol. 3 also gaining recognition from the Academy. That record also didn’t make its way onto any charts. “I heard the other day that I’m the first artist in history to be twice nominated for Album of the Year without ever having charted,” he reveals on the A Bit of Optimism Podcast. “None of my albums have ever been on any chart.”

READ MORE: Jacob Collier partners with Google on new AI tool MusicFX DJ

That’s right – none of Collier’s records have ever charted. While Collier’s Djesse Vol. 4 lost out out to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, the musical madman considers his un-chartable sound to be a more prestigious badge of honour. “I’m personally deeply proud of this,” he grins. “It’s kind of a cool stat!”

When digging into 2024’s Djesse Vol. 4, it’s a smorgasbord of eclectic sounds. Opening track 100,000 Voices paints the picture perfectly: glistening soundscapes and ethereal choral majesty gradually morph into scratchy, tormented doom metal wails and howls. Throughout, Collier navigates his way between woozy pop, folk-y musing and pulsing synthetic dance beats.
However, Collier’s not going to try and adjust his musical approach to appease the masses. Elsewhere in the interview, he explains how the concept of ‘Album of the Year’ doesn’t make sense to him. “I mean, there’s no such thing as Album of the Year,” he says. “This is made up. Someone made that up. I’m deeply honoured to be included in the number alongside such luminaries. I’m not taking it too serious.”
“None of us really know what we’re doing, we’re just playing around,” he admits. “I don’t sit around thinking, you know, ‘I’m bloody brilliant’, so much as just, ‘What an interesting time to be Jacob,’ and, ‘What an interesting time to be making music’. Because I’ve made a very unconventional album that is deeply irreverent in many ways. And for it to be counted… it’s just kind of a thrill.”
While he might have missed out on Album of the Year, he still has seven Grammys to his name. During an INSIDE studio tour last year, Collier revealed that he uses said awards for recording purposes. “These Grammys here are not just useful for my ego, they’re also useful as agogo bells,” he said.

The post “There’s no such thing as ‘Album of the Year’ – someone made that up”: Jacob Collier doesn’t mind that he didn’t win a Grammy for his album, Djesse Vol. 4 appeared first on MusicTech.

NEW: Live Music News from across the webHypebot has added a Live Industry News tab to the top of the home page that links to a new curated feed of live music industry news from hundreds of global news sources.
The post NEW: Live Music News from across the web appeared first on Hypebot.

Pivotal grime producer and pioneer Terror Danjah has diedLegendary grime pioneer Terror Danjah has died. Known for his innovative ear for production and his work establishing the R’n’B and grime hybrid genre, R&B, the East London producer’s passing was officially confirmed yesterday.
A family member confirmed the news with The Guardian, though no cause of death has been shared. However, Terror Danjah has had a history of health scares, notably falling into a coma in 2019 following a stroke. Though he eventually woke up and went on to release two more records, Invasion and the EP Red Flag, little information was shared as to whether the stroke had a lasting impact on his health.

READ MORE: Electronic music contributed £2.4 billion to UK economy in 2024, with record-breaking ticket sales recorded for electronic music events

Many of his peers have taken to social media to share their love. Producer and MC D Power Diesle took to X on 10 February, before any official news of Terror’s passing was confirmed, mourning the loss of his grime peer. “People!,” he wrote. “Sad, sad news! Terror Danjah has unfortunately passed away. God bless all his family, I will let you know when I know more.”

PEOPLE !!!! SAD SAD NEWS !!!
@TerrorDanjah HAS UNFORTUNATELY PASSED AWAY .
God bless all his family, I will let you know when I know more .
— RICE OUT NOW (@officialdpower) February 10, 2025

Planet Mu, a label that consistently worked alongside Terror Danjah and released numerous of his records, has also shared a statement on X. “You will be missed,” the label writes. “The best ever grime producer.”
Kevin Martin, a.k.a The Bug, has also shared thoughts on X. “A fantastic producer, big hearted person and criminally underrated outside of Grime circles,” he writes. “I will miss your laughter, sick beats, and miss the random phone conversations. It was a pleasure to know you and hang… A positive force, sorely missed.”

Rest in peace Terror Danjah.A fantastic producer, big hearted person and criminally underrated outside of Grime circles.I will miss your laughter, sick beatz, and miss the random phone conversations.It was a pleasure to know you and hang.. A positive force, sorely missed. pic.twitter.com/L8kaSjsEnl
— The Bug(official) (@thebugzoo) February 11, 2025

As The Bug notes, Terror Danjah’s name isn’t as celebrated as his grime peers. However, his impact on grime has been pivotal. Known for his signature gremlin cackle that played on his tracks, the beatmaker was known for his dynamic sonic fusion. While he cut his teeth in the 1990s DJing house parties and raves, his love for music spanned far beyond the jungle tracks he was spinning. Raised on reggae and soulful R&B, his diverse musical palette would soon become a staple of his sound.
Terror Danjah’s diverse sonic tongue would truly shine when he took the reins and became a producer. In the early 2000s, his beats would tap into the core of what grime would become – despite the genre not officially existing yet. As The Guardian notes, Terror Danjah’s 2002 release, Highly Flammable, was one of the first tracks that helped “cement the sound” of the genre. Of course, thanks to his eclectic taste, he would later take grime and use it to lay the foundations of yet another new genre: R&G.

Even if you’ve not heard a Terror Danjah track, he’s always been buzzing behind the scenes, working with the likes of Wiley, Skepta, Dizzie Rascal, Four Tet, and Ghetts. He also worked with the Nasty Crew, and had his own After Shock collective. Without Terror Danjah, countless grime and rap careers would never have taken off. Bruza, Mz Bratt and Tinie Tempah were all platformed by Terror Danjah in the early stages of their careers.
While Terror Danjah has passed on, his influence lives on through the very existence of grime as a genre. And, as DJ Logan Sama notes in his poignant farewell, the producer’s unwavering support of smaller artists was one of a kind.
“There are few people throughout my history in music that I have seen reach out, nurture and empower as many emerging artists with the tools to go on to lead successful careers than I did Terror Danjah,” Logan Sama writes on X. “He truly loved music. He loved people. And I love him.”

There are few people throughout my history in music that I have seen reach out, nurture and empower as many emerging artists with the tools to go on to lead successful careers than I did Terror Danjah.
He truly loved music. He loved people. And I love him.

— Logan Sama (@djlogansama) February 11, 2025

The post Pivotal grime producer and pioneer Terror Danjah has died appeared first on MusicTech.

Black Lion Audio announce Revolution Clock range The Revolution Clock series comprises three units that cater to a wide range of applications, and are said to be the most precise and reliable clocks that Black Lion Audio have produced to date. 

Angelicvibes Release Basshead Mini, a FREE 808 and Deep Bass Synth
On Sunday, Angelicvibes dropped Basshead Mini, a free 808 and deep bass synth for trap, pop, and electronic music. The plugin is a macOS and Windows release for VST and AU.  Basshead Mini is a super simple plugin with essential controls like attack, release, pitch, output, and distortion.  There are 10 presets, which are made up [...]
View post: Angelicvibes Release Basshead Mini, a FREE 808 and Deep Bass Synth

Spotify Commissioned Cheap “Fake Artists” And She’s Got the ProofThis week, Ari is joined by Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist.

The Kompressor from Triton Audio Triton Audio's latest release places a simple one-knob JFET/opto compressor inside the same enclosure used for their popular FetHead in-line preamps.

The Quiet Riot Song That Sounded Like Def Leppard's Hysteria…a Year EarlierAuthor and AllMusic contributor Greg Prato offers an insightful excerpt from his new book "Bang Your Head, Feel the Noize: The Quiet Riot Story" examining the album that presaged the electronic influences Def Leppard would implement with huge success on their next record.

Ex-Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy has sold $49m in company stock over the past three months, as Daniel Ek’s share sales hit $94m in 2025 aloneSpotify's stock price has been hitting record highs, propelling the company to a valuation of over $125 billion
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Former CFTC chair criticizes STABLE Act amid calls for urgent regulatory clarityRepresentative Stephen Lynch said he worries that without proper crypto regulation, lawmakers are “[inviting] the next financial disaster.”

Apple Maps plans to show ‘Gulf of America,’ following GoogleApple Maps will soon rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, following similar changes made by Google this week, in order to comply with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order that officially changed the name. U.S.-based Apple users may see the “Gulf of America” as soon as Tuesday, according to Bloomberg, and […]
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A Tiny Computer With a 3D Printed QWERTY KeyboardThe ESP32 family are the microcontrollers which just keep on giving, as new versions keep them up-to-date and plenty of hackers come up with new things for them. A popular device is a general purpose computer with a QWERTY keypad, and the latest of many we’ve seen comes from [StabbyJack]. It’s a credit card sized machine whose special trick is that its keyboard is integrated in the 3D printing of its case. We’ve seen rubber membranes and push in keys, but this one has flexible print-in-place keys that line up on the switches on its PCB.
It’s not complete yet but the hardware appears to be pretty much there, and aside from that keyboard it has an ESP32-S3 and a 1.9″ SPI LCD. When finished it aims for an ambitious specification, with thermal camera and time-of-flight range finder hardware, along with an OS and software to suit. We like it a lot, though we suspect it might be a little small for our fingers.
If you like this project you may appreciate another similar one, and perhaps your version will need an OS.

Revealed Recordings Revealed Serum Hardcore OverdoseRevealed Serum Hardcore Overdose is a collection of 64 presets delivering raw, high-intensity sounds for Gabber, Hardstyle, Industrial Techno, and Hardcore. Split into two categories,... Read More

Logic Pro sampler guide: 3 ways to sample in the DAW (free templates included)
In this in-depth Logic Pro sampler guide, we explore Quick Sampler, Sampler, and Sample Alchemy and discuss how they can elevate your productions.