Many people would probably not recognize JORIS in public - which is fine with him. But if you ask people whether they know his song "Herz über Kopf", the answer is quite different.
Because this song was the artist's breakthrough in 2015. A lot has happened since then and after three years, JORIS is now releasing his new album "zu viel retro" and going on tour with his band.
Many artists write their songs in English to appeal to an even broader audience. Your songs are all in German. Why is that?
JORIS: I actually always wrote in English from an early age, as I primarily listened to English music and found the German language very cumbersome.
Then I wrote my first song in German, it was called "im Schneckenhaus" and it just wanted to be like that - in German. And when I showed people the song, I realized that they felt totally picked up. Your own language enables a deeper understanding and that is also a huge power. I've been writing in German ever since, even though it's much more challenging. Because with German music, the lyrics are always in the foreground. But you can be much more precise with the language, which is a strength.
Your fourth album is entitled "too much retro". Why exactly this title?
JORIS : For me, the whole process of making the album was a return to my strengths and to what gives me security. Because there was a lot of uncertainty from the outside.
I also make use of sounds that I feel from the heart, for example from the 00s or 10s. That's retro, of course.
Then I read an article about a high school reunion where someone meets the woman he was incredibly in love with back then and she was in love with him too. But they never told each other back then. At the end of the article, it said "That's how it would be with retro, too much makes the heart heavy". When I finished the album, I found that the title "too much retro" fits everything very well.
Do you have a favorite song from the new album?
JORIS : It's different every night when you play concerts.
But "das leben ist..." was a breakthrough song for me. Because I was in a hole and wasn't getting anywhere lyrically, which led to self-doubt. So I thought to myself, maybe that's exactly what you have to write about. Because it's okay that life isn't always great - but it's still great.
If things don't work out with the music - what kind of carpentry project can we expect from you?
JORIS: Even if the music is going well, I'm currently working on my stage design. The idea with the set is to bring the recording studio on stage. What makes the album is the live performance - and we can bring that 1:1 to the stage and invite people to join us in the studio.
"zu viel retro" is a very energetic, forward-moving record, with some quiet moments, which definitely belongs on the live stage.
On 13.3 in Bern (support act: Seulfa) or 14.3 in Zurich (support act: Noemi Beza) you can experience the artist up close.