Forever Jan
Best-of album by Jan Delay: Casual and well received
Has released a best-of album: musician Jan Delay. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
Whether hip-hop, rap, jazz, funk, rock, reggae or soul – Jan Delay has tried out – and cultivated – a lot over the past 25 years. Now the best is on record – including football music.
However, he has now found his favorites. And now he’s giving himself and his fans a best-of album. He confidently called it “Forever Jan” and it sounds like a tracklist from one of his live concerts. And of course that is no coincidence.
“About ten songs were of course very clear. Among them, of course, “Klar”,” jokes Delay in an interview with the German Press Agency in Hamburg. “The songs can’t be shaken, they are played at every gig and that also corresponds to the streaming numbers.”
Performance with Deichkind?
It was interesting that the live medley “Pump up” has made it into this top 10 for the past 13 years. The rousing five-minute dance medley from a live concert in Hamburg in 2011 and with Deichkind has been viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube alone. “And that’s why it’s on the record and we’ll also play it at the concerts. Without streaming that wouldn’t have happened,” says Delay. In Hamburg he might even perform with Deichkind again. The tour starts at the end of May, on August 24th Jan Delay plays at the trotting track in Hamburg.
In search of the best songs of the past few years, Jan Delay watched a lot of his music videos. “It was nice to watch it all again. How have the videos aged? Where are you happy, where are you ashamed? And that was a nice experience, a nice experience.”
When he looks back, he is still hardly embarrassed by videos from the past. “The moments that make you feel ashamed are the same moments that made you feel ashamed when you sat down in the editing room or somewhere and were shown the thing for the first time and thought, ‘Oh shit!’ And it actually stayed that way.” But those are just one or two videos. He doesn’t want to reveal what they are. “I can’t say because the director is a friend of mine,” says Delay with a smile. By the way, his favorite video is still the one for the song “Im Ass” with Udo Lindenberg.
Jan Delay is particularly satisfied because he remained true to himself and always made sure to deliver valuable and sustainable music videos. “That it is art and has a meaning.” He didn’t just stand in front of a wall and perform a song. “You won’t have that with me. And if someone stands in front of the wall and performs, then it still has a meta level or is part of a gag or a plan.”
What were his most beautiful moments?
The best moments in the past 25 years were those when he set out to do something big and it just worked – no matter how long the journey was. Concerts in large arenas, an appearance at “Wetten,dass..?” or a whole album with the sound of the 70s, for example. “And all of this, of course, always under the premise that you don’t bend yourself, that you still get there the way you are – with the texts you have and the interviews you give and the attitude you have .” If it all works out, “these will be very nice moments.”
He feels like he has really arrived since his last record “Earth, Wind & Celebrations”. “The record is total relaxation. That’s just what I like. Without dogmatic guidelines and without cramps. Everything is allowed and you can also wear sneakers and a cap with a suit.”
And Werder Bremen fans can also look forward to the Hamburger’s record. Because on the second part of the best-of album with a total of 34 songs there is also the song “Green-White Love”, which the self-confessed Werder fan recorded in 2018. The ode to the club from the Weser has long been accepted and established as one of the important Werder anthems.