"Krone" interview

Jan Delay: “Austria is like a time machine”

Jan Philipp Eißfeldt alias Jan Delay plays at Gut Aiderbichl and in Graz.(Bild: Thomas Leidig)

Before his concerts at Gut Aiderbichl and in Graz, Jan Delay looked back on his 25-year solo career in an interview with "Krone", is glad that he "never took a wrong turn" and revealed what makes the Austrian audience special.

"Krone": You once said in an interview that you are not nostalgic. For the album "Forever Jan - 25 Years of Jan Delay", you inevitably had to look back on your career. What were the insights?

Jan Delay: When you look at things that are 10, 15 or sometimes 25 years old, you have a certain distance and are a bit more objective. It's like looking at something new. It was nice to see that it all has a solid foundation and a common thread. And that the guy who does all this nonsense and always has these ideas and always wants to do everything well, who always drove himself crazy - that it all made sense. In the end, 15 or 20 years later, you still have a nice piece of art that you can listen to. The shame factor was very, very low. Actually, the only things I didn't like were the things I didn't like back then. I made so many different records, with so many different sounds, but when you look at the big picture, it still seems to come from one ideal and one attitude. I thought it was nice to see that I didn't take a wrong turn anywhere.

Jan Delay is celebrating his 25-year solo career with his album "Forever Jan".(Bild: Universal Music)

You didn't take any wrong turns on your tour either, because you're coming to Gut Aiderbichl on 16.8. and to Graz on 17.8. Are we Austrians stricter or more appreciative as an audience compared to the Germans?

There are different regions with different emotions. There are different mentalities in your federal states, just like in Germany. In general, if you had to lump it all together, the only thing that strikes me is that you are a bit of a time machine. You get in and go back a few years. Especially in Vienna, with this morbidity - but I really like that. The audience is always a bit more sluggish. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just part of the mentality. But I get on well with it and when you know that, you're even happier when they're so happy.

Concert at the Gnadenhof: Jan Delay will be performing at Gut Aiderbichl on 16.8.(Bild: Gut Aiderbichl)

Speaking of which: can we look forward to an album entitled "Forever Jan - 50 years of Jan Delay" in 25 years' time?

Well, if the world still exists and Jan Delay is still around - of course, why not? But I think what will put a spanner in the works is that there might not be any more albums. Maybe then there will be Jan Delay in 4D - a hologram that comes to your home and plays a concert there. But I'm not averse to that.