Jacob Collier Reimagines The Beach Boys' "Keep An Eye On Summer" For First New Single of 2025, As Tribute to Brian Wilson:
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Today, Jacob Collier releases his first new single of what has already been a monumental 2025. Out now on Hajanga/Interscope/Decca, "Keep An Eye On Summer"is a gentle and touching rendition of The Beach Boys' deep cut, whose vocal arrangements have long been an inspiration for Collier's choral innovations. Stripped back and intimate, he reimagines the song through the sounds of his signature five-string and ten-string Taylor guitars, recorded at home in his storied music room, while channeling Brian Wilson's words through waves of wistful harmonies and undulating inflections. Invoking the style of his own acoustic ballads like "The Sun Is In Your Eyes," "Keep An Eye On Summer" is a distillation of Jacob's multi-textural universe in a refreshingly warm and vulnerable new light.
Says Jacob Collier: "I have loved this song since the moment I first heard it as a youngster. It captures so beautifully that melancholic, earnest sophistication of The Beach Boys' early days - all that wonderful close harmony. On Summer Solstice last year, in June of 2024, I spontaneously decided to record a rendition of the song, for fun; it took me around four hours or so. This is it, in its rough, unfettered form. In lieu of Brian's passing a few months ago, it felt right to share it with the world, as an homage to him, as this summer comes to a close."
Listen to "Keep An Eye On Summer," and watch the music video illustrated by Dávid Pogran: HERE
"Keep An Eye On Summer" arrives at the peak of Jacob Collier's six-continent Djesse World Tour, in the midst of a year that has seen him earn his second GRAMMY® nomination for Album of The Year; honor his late mentor and musical hero, Quincy Jones, on the GRAMMY® telecast; headline the O2 Arena in his London hometown; collaborate with Bon Iver, as well as 9,000 primary school children; conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in a completely improvised performance; perform atop an Arctic iceberg with AURORA and Greenpeace; and lead hundreds of thousands of concert attendees in his immersive audience choirs.
Last week, Jacob Collier also transformed Tarrytown, NY into the center of his boundless, radically joyous universe, bringing 300 musicians and music enthusiasts deep into his open heart and brain; over the course of four days, his inaugural Hideaway Retreatcoalesced the past 10 years of inspiring, unpredictable and unprecedented creative adventures. Joined by a handpicked faculty of artists like Dirty Projectors' David Longstreth, dodie, Chris Thile, mastering engineer Emily Lazar, Taylor Guitars CEO and luthier Andy Powers, his mother Suzie Collier, and his most formative teachers, Collier unpacked everything from harmony, rhythm, performance, improvisation, composition, songwriting, recording and mixing to ancient rhythms, nonexistent keys, creative philosophy, and more.
Whether it's earning seven GRAMMY® wins, two Album of The Year nominations and thirteen other nods, collaborating with such artists as Quincy Jones, Joni Mitchell, SZA, Bon Iver, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, Stormzy, Kirk Franklin, Oumou Sangaré, Anoushka Shankar or Hans Zimmer, selling out arenas, breaking track-count limits in DAWs, or bringing 100,000 people together in audience choirs around the world, Jacob Collier continues to push the boundaries of creative possibility, with a mission of uniting and inspiring every continent in a language beyond words.
He plays, writes and communicates with a warmth, openness and drastic inclusivity that has expanded heart and minds and inspired millions, and while the four-album opus of Djesse has felt like "attending the most expansive, open-minded music festival you've never heard of," says Billboard, "Keep An Eye On Summer" is the beginning of much more to come.
Later this summer and fall, Jacob Collier continues a run of 30+ shows across South America, India, China, Australia and the US, where he will perform with his band, orchestras and completely solo. Find the full list of upcoming dates at jacobcollier.com/tour.
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