DNA

DNA - The new album from Terence Collie

DNA is my most personal work to date, exploring identity, heritage and belonging through contemporary jazz. Drawing on my roots in the Seychelles, I’ve brought together piano trio, strings and layered textures to create a sound world that feels both intimate and expansive.

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ALBUM SYNOPSIS

DNA is my most personal work to date, an album that explores identity, heritage and belonging through the lens of contemporary jazz composition. Rooted in my family heritage in the Seychelles, the music traces both a geographical and internal journey, from the UK to the Indian Ocean and from documented history to inherited memory. Looking beyond my known family tree, I began to uncover a wider lineage, with migratory roots spanning 26 regions across multiple continents. This perspective broadens and quietly underpins the music. While the starting point is autobiographical, the intention is not to present a fixed narrative but to create a space where these themes can be felt rather than explained.

The album is written for an acoustic piano trio with strings and percussion, with a compositional approach that centres on groove, clarity and interaction. Rhythm is a defining element, particularly the use of compound metres and Afro-diasporic influences, not as surface colour but as structural foundation. The harmonic language shifts across the album. At times, it is deliberately economical, allowing melody and improvisation to remain direct and lyrical. At others, it becomes more expansive and harmonically detailed, opening up a different kind of expressive depth. The strings are fully integrated into the ensemble, sharing melodic material, shaping form and extending the emotional range of the trio rather than sitting above it.

Across the album, the music unfolds in two connected arcs. It begins by moving through ideas of migration, inheritance and ambiguity, from motion and transition towards a more introspective, unresolved space. It then becomes more grounded, drawing directly on the landscapes, rhythm and atmosphere of the Seychelles. At its core, DNA is about the balance between composition and improvisation, past and present and the ongoing process of understanding where we come from.

Track List

Montrose to Mahé

Inspired by my third-great-grandfather, James Moses Collie (1807-1872), who journeyed from Scotland to the Seychelles to teach, marry, and settle. Montrose to Mahé is a “crossing” through waves of rhythm and feel. The piece begins with a lilting 6/8 jig that nods to Scottish folk traditions before evolving into an African-infused 12/8 groove, driven by call-and-response exchanges between piano and strings.

Good Genes

An upbeat, feel-good tune that blends jazz vocabulary with Latin vitality and lush strings, Good Genes celebrates the vibrancy of mixed heritage - a musical reflection of diversity.

Silhouette

Taking its name from the mysterious island of Silhouette, part of the Seychelles archipelago and visible from Beau Vallon Beach on Mahé, Silhouette captures both its allure and its darker legend - the story of a swimmer who reached the island, celebrated his feat and tragically vanished on the return. The composition balances beauty and melancholy, evoking the pull of the unknown and the fragility of human daring.

Tall Palm Trees

Opening with an infectious groove built on on-beat and off-beat syncopation, locking into a pulse that drives the music forward while the melody unfolds through memorable, singable motifs coloured by unexpected note choices. The piece was inspired by the Coco de Mer, a prehistoric palm found only in the Seychelles on the island of Praslin in the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Producing the largest nut in the world. The tree is now a protected, endangered species. Slow-growing and monumental, it feels rooted in deep time; the groove stays grounded and earthy while the melody rises and opens out.

Beau Vallon

Inspired by the idyllic coastal area of Mahé, where my maternal grandfather built his home, Beau Vallon channels nostalgia. The piece recounts the joy and serenity of long childhood holidays surrounded by family, sea and sun.

Harbour View

Named after my paternal grandparents’ guesthouse, once the heart of social gatherings and Creole hospitality. Harbour View sets a traditional Sega rhythm within a 12-bar blues framework. The result is a vibrant fusion of blues, jazz and Creole groove: a musical cultural meeting place.

La Digue

Named after the third-largest island in the Seychelles, this composition unfolds over a descending chord progression that evokes the island’s serene beauty. The cello initially doubles the main melody before trading roles with the violin, creating a rich dialogue within the string textures. Lush harmonies provide a warm foundation for a lyrical double bass solo and a reflective, improvisatory piano outro.

Bird Island (Bonus Track, Digital and CD only)

A high-energy swing piece driven by a restless 5/4 ostinato, Bird Island constantly shifts between keys, mirroring the wild, chaotic spirit of its namesake - a remote Seychelles island inhabited solely by nesting seabirds. The tune captures that sense of untamed motion and natural exuberance.