Jan Seven Dettwyler: New album and soon on tour

Jan, Friday, September 13 promises to be a special day for you.

Exactly. That's when my 13th album will be released. We're launching it at the Volkshaus in Zurich. And this concert also marks the start of my tour. We'll be on the road in Switzerland and then in Germany.

Everything with 13 - pure coincidence?
No, I chose this date deliberately. In our family, 13 is a lucky number. My parents met on a 13th, got engaged on a 13th and my mother was born on a 13th. Numbers have always fascinated me. I've also always enjoyed math.

Hence your stage name Seven?

Yes, seven is my lucky number. And "Seven" is also my favorite Prince song.

What's new is that you've been calling yourself "jan SEVEN dettwyler" for two years now. Why the addition of your private name?

When I decided on the name Seven at the age of 21, I didn't want to be myself, I wanted to create an artificial character and give myself an incredibly cool name. But it's just a number, nothing human. But then, 15 or 16 years later, when I was sitting on the sofa of "Sing meinen Song" in Germany, I was asked: "How did you grow up?" And then I realized: now it's no longer "just" about Seven, it's about Jan. It used to be that if it wasn't about my music and my songs, I didn't give any interviews. I was an incredible purist, brutally strict and didn't allow anything. That started to clash. It wasn't right any more, and Jan moved more and more from the backstage area to the stage.

Your music has also changed. You used to sing in English, now you sing German lyrics, very personal songs. Why is your new album actually called "Schwarz auf Grün"?

You say: "I'm writing it in black and white now." If you look me in the eye, my pupil is black and my eyes are green. I'm now allowing people to look right into them. That's why I'm just putting it down now - black on green. The album was created over the last three years. And the last three years have been so grueling. So intense. With post-corona contractions, with the difficulties that this has brought to our industry. Then I emigrated with my family. In the middle of this time, a year and a half ago, there was a separation. Which also brought a lot of turmoil, a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty. I lost myself - and had to find myself again. I had to rediscover life. And now I'm really allowing myself to show myself. With songs that are a bit naked.

You overcame a difficult time. Has that also made you stronger?

It definitely did. I think everyone has experienced that on a large or small scale. That you have moments when you think: "I don't know what to do next. I have no idea how to do this now." I generally have difficulties with construction sites. When I'm up in the air, when there's no clear plan.

Were there moments when you were really desperate?

Yes, there were moments when I really had no idea how it would turn out and whether everything would be okay and whether I would be able to handle and manage everything. When you look back on those moments and realize: "Hey, I'm doing really well now!" and everything is fine the way it is. It's even better than before. It took all of this for me to get to where I am now. And I don't regret anything. It makes you much stronger, gives me confidence and serenity.

I've already had the chance to listen to your new album. I really like the songs and the open lyrics.

Thank you! It's funny to me that you already know the songs. The initial phase of an album release is always difficult. I think this album will take me the longest to realize that people can now just look inside me like that. That makes you very vulnerable and a little insecure. It's a very disturbing and haunting piece of music, this album. It was created very close to my heart and soul.

It takes courage to open up like that.

It does, definitely. But it's so much healthier. Keeping up the façade all the time is so exhausting. On the one hand, not showing your weaknesses makes you untouchable and protects you from being hurt. On the other hand, it's exhausting not to admit weakness and to always protect yourself from everything, really everything. Just let it out and show weakness, show your fears. Even asking for help sometimes makes relationships much more intense and much stronger. I didn't know how to do that for a long time and I didn't know it for a long time. It gives you so much.

You are anything but a lone wolf, there are also a few others on the album, including Johannes Oerding, Jalil, Toni-L and NKSN. Is that always an experiment?

Yes, of course, except with Johannes Oerding. It wasn't an experiment with him, I knew from the start that it would be good. We got to know each other 18 years ago at a session in Basel. And we always said that as soon as we had the right song, we would do something together. Then I sent him the demo version of "Kurz auf Stopp" via WhatsApp and wrote: "I've got it!" It was a perfect fit, he wrote back. Because he was just planning to take a one-year break.

You also covered a song by your idol Prince, "Nothing Compares 2 U".

Alex Christensen called me and said he wanted to do it with me. As a big Prince fan, I thought it was blasphemous to do something like that. Alex said he would only do it with me and no one else - and sent me his orchestral arrangement, which he had already recorded. Then I said I'd sing it - and then decide later whether I wanted to publish it. I then felt this energy and actually felt comfortable with it.

What do you admire about Prince?

He never stuck to any rules. Whenever something worked and went through the roof, he did something completely different. And he did it to perfection.

Prince also impressed with his live performances and stylish stage shows. I've heard that you also have something special planned for the tour in terms of the show.

Yes, not only the LED construction on stage, but also the audience will be part of the show in terms of lighting. We will be able to control the cell phones via QR code and change the color. We think that will be very cool.

Finally, something completely different. An Asterix book that you translated will be published at the beginning of October.

Egmont Verlag asked me if I would like to translate the first Asterix volume "Asterix the Gaul" into Swiss dialect for the 75th anniversary. I agreed on the condition that I could do whatever I wanted. For "Asterix the Gaul", I turned the village into "Wohlenum" - after all, I was born in Wohlen. The Romans became "bad Zurich people", their spy is from Graubünden. Obelix is an immigrant, stolid Bernese. I incorporated a lot of puns. It was a lot of work, but it was great fun.

Interview with Jan Seven Dettwyler: "I let people look inside me"