Jan Delay
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| Jan Delay | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jan Phillip Eißfeldt |
| Also known as | Eißfeldt, Eizi Eiz, Boba Ffett (among many other names) |
| Born | August 25, 1976 (age 31) |
| Origin | Hamburg, Germany |
| Genre(s) | German hip hop, Reggae, Funk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1991 - present |
| Label(s) | Vertigo Berlin |
| Associated acts | Beginner La Boom Sam Ragga Band |
| Website | www.jandelay.de |
Jan Delay (born Jan Phillip Eißfeldt August 25, 1976 in Hamburg) is a German singer, songwriter and producer who became known to a wide public as a member of German bands Absolute Beginner and La Boom as well as a solo artist. His stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk.
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[edit] Biography
Jan Delay attended the bilingual Helene-Lange school in Hamburg from 1986, graduating in 1995.
In the 1990s, Jan Delay was best known for being one third of German hip hop pioneers Beginner (former Absolute Beginner), nowadays he is a successful solo artist and joined the sideproject "La Boom" together with German songwriter and producer Tropf. His artist name derives from an ironic pun on a pop music act from the 90s ("Young Deenay") and includes a hint towards an important effect in reggae and dancehall music, the delay/echo.
Jan Delay's most significant trade is his somewhat monotone, nasal voice. Next to switching his artist name depending on the current music style, collabo partner and daily mood, Jan Delay likes to hide behind sunglasses and has so far never been pictured without a hat or cap. He doesn't give in to stardom and rarely likes interviews and promotion dates. Delay has always consequently denied requests from teenage magazines and programmes (openly pronounced in the track "Ich will nicht dass ihr meine Lieder singt" - I do not want you to sing my songs), but agreed to talk to MTV, Juice and the likes.
In 1997, Jan Delay founded his own record label Eimsbush together with partners from the Hamburg hiphop scene, including Tropf, Josen and Arfmann. Its main goal was to support and guide young, fresh underground talents and pave their way into the music business without having them sell out to major labels. In some way, the label foundation was initiated by the German hiphop scene going through a boom phase in the mid and late 90s. This led to "every Horst (old-fashioned first name, in colloquial German used for "jerk") being allowed to rap if only he can hold up a mic" (quote Jan Delay in an interview with MTV Germany, 2007). As a result, real talents stepped back from putting their tracks out in fear of being seen as sellouts by the underground hiphop scene.
Due to financial reasons and mainly as a result of the "naive idea of just believing in talent offside the mainstream" (quote Jan Delay, MTV Germany 2007), the label had to shut down in 2003. Former partners of Eimsbush later collaborated with Delay (Tropf, Arfmann), founded own labels (Moqui Marbles), agencies (Joachim von Westphal) or signed with other labels (Yo Mama, Four Artists).
Until today, Jan Delay has released two solo records. The first, "Searching For The Jan Soul Rebels" was recorded with former Eimsbush act "Sam Ragga Band" and produced by Eimsbush's Arfmann. It was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike for taking up reggae and dub tunes and mixing them with Delay's well-known hiphop elements. In Germany's biggest hiphop magazineJuice, Delay's album was the first ever to receive the maximum of six crowns. The second album, "Mercedes Dance", was released in 2006 and moved away fromreggae, more towards funk and jazz elements. Delay's lyrics still range from pure dancing tracks to sharp ironic takes on current political or social developments in Germany. In 2007, Jan Delay participated in the highly popular Bundesvision Song Contest (not to be confused with the Eurovision Song Contest), presented by Stefan Raab (comparable to David Letterman and the likes), but despite his role as favourite only scored in 2nd.
In 2007, Delay was the opening act for all German dates of Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics Tour.
On 7 July, 2007 Delay performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 2001 - Searching for the Jan Soul Rebels
- 2006 - Mercedes Dance
- 2007 - Searching - the Dubs
- 2007 - Mercedes Dance - Live
[edit] Singles
- 1999 - "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann" — (cover version of Nena's song of the same name)
- 2001 - "Ich möchte nicht, dass ihr meine Lieder singt" ("I don't want you to sing my songs")
- 2001 - "Vergiftet" ("Poisoned")
- 2002 - "Die Welt steht still" (Sam Ragga Band featuring Jan Delay) ("The world stands still")
- 2006 - "Klar" ("Clear")
- 2006 - "Für immer und dich" ("Forever and for you")
- 2007 - "Feuer" ("Fire")
- 2007 - "Im Arsch" (featuring Udo Lindenberg) ("Buggered")
- 2007 - "Türlich, Türlich (Of course, of course) / Word up
