Music
The Magnificent Seven
Swiss soul singer Seven is performing live again at long last. Here he names the seven albums that have inspired and shaped him as both an individual and an artist.
It seems appropriate that Seven was exactly that age when his life changed forever. From that moment on, none other than the King of Pop himself set the tone in the Swiss seven-year-old’s bedroom. Other music legends eventually joined Michael Jackson in his affections and, while still a schoolboy, Seven studied their albums down to the finest detail. Those same artists continue to inf luence him to this day and have made him what he is: Switzerland’s most successful soul singer. Real name Jan Dettwyler, Seven has released 12 albums over the past 20 years and has supported the likes of Destiny’s Child and German hip-hop stars Die Fantastischen Vier on tour.
For heart and mind: Seven doesn't have to hide behind his idols
© Dan Cermak
Winner of the Artist Award at the 2017 Swiss Music Awards, Seven was subsequently invited to appear on the German hit TV show Sing meinen Song — Das Tauschkonzert (“Sing my Song — The Exchange Concert”), where some of the country’s top musicians, including Nena and Mark Forster, reinterpret other artists’ songs. Seven has been famous in Austria and Germany ever since, and now even hosts the Swiss spinoff.
But Seven has never forgotten where it all started. And how could he? The 42-year-old still remembers his performance as an eight-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator as if it were yesterday. Plenty of the records that he was listening to back then still rank among his favourite albums today. So we asked Seven which seven artists truly inspire him and have had the biggest effect on his life. These are the albums that he chose.
01
"The first money that I earned was as a Michael Jackson impersonator"
Michael Jackson got Seven his first job - as an impersonator
© Getty Images
“The first time I heard this album by the King of Pop, my passion for music took on a whole new significance. It had rhythm and blues, it had gospel, it had jazz. That was an extreme crossover back then and so many people had said it was something you just shouldn’t do. I was seven when I discovered the record. I still remember now that the first thing I asked wasn’t, ‘Who’s that?’ but, ‘What’s that?’ That’s when the nerd in me came to the fore. The first money I earned — about €50 — was as a Michael Jackson impersonator at a wedding when I was eight. I always took a white glove to school, like the one he wore on stage. I danced in front of the TV too. I really did go completely mad.”
Michael Jackson's "Off the wall“ (1979)
© Warner/Allen Beaulieu
Off the Wall, Michael Jackson’s fifth studio album, is viewed as the record that really kick-started his solo career worldwide.
02
"I saw Prince live 26 or 27 times. It was like going to church."
Prince even provided the inspiration for the stage name Seven
© Warner/Allen Beaulieu
“With Michael Jackson I was a child fan. By the time Prince came around I was a freak. I spent all my savings in record shops on bootlegged recordings of Prince concerts. I also saw him live 26 or 27 times. Seeing Prince live was like going to church. There’s nothing better. I learned a lot from watching him, including a compulsion for perfectionism. The seventh track on Love Symbol was my first favourite song by him. It’s where my stage name comes from too. I listened to it non-stop back then. I once sang the chorus at a good friend’s house and he asked me what I would be called if I was featured in the credits. Seven was the first thing that came into my head. The song is simply a film score. The whole Love Symbol album created so many images in my head. The way that the songs blend into each other is like a requiem; almost an opera.”
Prince – "Love Symbol“ (1992)
© Warner
Prince intended Love Symbol to be a concept album. He described it himself as a fantasy rock soap-opera.
"My favourite albums are life companions," says Seven
© Dan Cermak
03
"With DJ Quik you get a sense of the people behind the music."
DJ Quik's influence can also be heard on Seven's records
© Getty Images
“When listening to this album by US rapper and producer DJ Quik, you could be forgiven for thinking, ‘It’s just rap.’ But he was mixing G-funk with real guitars and bass with beats. It’s a mix of everything I love: clear, programmed, heavy beats mixed with well-played guitars that aren’t looped. You can sense the person behind the music in the flying chords that you’re immediately floating along to. I really have learned so much from the guy. There was a time when tracks that I loved kept coming out and every time it was DJ Quik who had made them. Once you know that, you’ll hear his influence very clearly when you run through my music of the past 20 years.”
DJ Quik – "Balance & Options" (2000)
© Arista
Critics and fans alike rate Balance & Options as DJ Quik’s best album.
04
"D'Angelo was a game changer. I still think of him as a mini messiah."
In Seven's eyes, D'Angelo created not just music, but a whole world
© Getty Images
“If you look at the sleeve notes for Voodoo there are sometimes 80 people who contributed to one song. Then on the next song there are another 80. Imagine the sound design and nerdy effort that went into creating that world! This album is a masterpiece that sounds good whatever you play it on. In terms of style and craftsmanship it may not be very mainstream or poppy but the effort that went into the production, well, we’d never seen the likes of that before. His verses are arranged like rap but wrapped in a Seventies cloak using old instruments with bass and verve. D’Angelo was a game changer. I still think of him as a mini messiah.”
D’Angelo – "Voodoo“ (2000)
© Virgin
Voodoo, which entered the US charts at number one in 2000, was a milestone of neo-soul.
05
"John Mayer's albums are more than music. These songs are my lifelong friend."
Country with soul: John Mayer has combined the best of two styles
© Getty Images
“John Mayer had his first hit and became famous with Your Body is a Wonderland. I thought it was so-so; not really my thing. Then Mayer heard Voodoo by D’Angelo (see left). He called the team who worked on that album and said, ‘Hey, I write country songs but I want that sound.’ And that’s how John Mayer, an incredibly good guitarist and a great singer — one of the absolute best at both — made a soul album with country songs that is one of the best albums of all time, in my view. It’s completely lacking in country-style production and has the warmth and depth of soul. You can’t beat this album. I can listen to it over and over again. But that’s true of all seven of these albums. They are albums that have changed me musically. None of them were just a phase, they are definitely my friends for life.”
John Mayer – "Continuum“ (2006)
© Columbia
John Mayer won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album with Continuum.
06
"Joy Denalane was the first German soul singer who didn't sound funny."
A lot comes together at Joy Denalane: Soul, R'n'B, Folk, German, English
© Getty Images
“I was listening to D’Angelo and a lot of rap at the time and had just been to another Prince concert — and all of a sudden there was a soul album in German [Seven screws up his face]. So I listened to Mamani and — this may sound stupid now — it being in German was fine. It was the first time that German soul hadn’t sounded funny. That album was a real light-bulb moment for me. And it was after I saw a Joy Denalane concert two years ago that I decided to do something in German myself. If it wasn’t for Mamani, I’m sure I wouldn’t be singing in German today. Denalane doesn’t have a kingdom of her own, sadly, but she is the queen. No one else has ever sung German soul like she has, man or woman.”
Joy Denalane – "Mamani“ (2002)
© Sony
Denalane sang in her mother tongue on Mamani for the first time and became the queen of German soul.
07
"Erykah Badu's message is to be proud of your roots."
Erykah Badu's debut won two Grammys
© Getty Images
“You can hear Badu’s penchant for classic jazz coming through on this album. The way that she uses her voice and writes songs and chord progressions is impressive too. On top of all that she dried out the beats in her music and got rid of any reverb or anything that created length and volume — and the songs still have a harmonious jazz feel. And of course there is her authentic look to show how proud she is of her origins, plus the politics in her lyrics. What music. What class. What complexity. We hadn’t heard that before. Her concerts are also some of the best that I’ve ever been to.”
Erykah Badu – "Baduizm“ (1997)
© Island
Erykah Badu received four Grammy nominations for her debut album, and won two.
SEVEN: NEW ALBUM, NEW TOUR
Seven, 42, real name Jan Dettwyler, comes from a musical family. His father is a tenor, his mother is a pianist and his brother is a member of Seven’s touring band. One of Switzerland’s best-known singers, his 2015 album BackFunkLoveSoul was in the Swiss charts for 12 weeks and made it to number one.
Seven's German pop album "Ich Bin Mir Sicher" will be released in September
© Membran
Seven’s new album, Ich bin mir sicher! (“I’m Certain!”), will be released in September 2021. The singer’s upcoming tour starts on October 3 in Karlsruhe; for all other dates, visit: sevenmusic.ch
