[Interview] Tokio Hotel : Human Connect to Human

Admin Messages : 8859 Points : 7670 Date d'inscription : 04/11/2006

Citation :: source (c) http://www.sentimentalistmag.com/2009/11/12/tokio-hotel-human-connect-to-human/

Before I even locate the well-appointed midtown Manhattan hotel that
Tokio Hotel is staying in, I hear the unmistakable sounds of giddy
teenage girls. This is a common sight and sound wherever the handsome,
young men of Tokio Hotel might be, anywhere around the globe. Yes, the
multi-platinum, worldwide phenomenon Tokio Hotel is back with a
seriously polished and seriously addictive new record in Humanoid. And
the girls, well, the little girls understand. They rarely seem to talk
of anything else as I spend 30 minutes in their orbit. Decked out in
their finest Hot Topic or Torrid fashions, lacey black skirts, heavy
makeup, t-shirts bearing the German band’s insignia, the girls
excitedly talk to band personnel about which members of the band they
have seen on the day. I hear directives and squeals mentioning “Bill,
Oh my God!” and “Georg… sooooo cute!” They will be at Best Buy later
for the guys’ appearance and signing, of course, and will continue to
pine and yearn and make me jealous for the innocent, halcyon days of
loving a band so much your heart might just burst. And after I spend 10
minutes with the guys in Tokio Hotel — brothers Bill and Tom Kaulitz,
Gustav Schafer and Georg Listing — I can’t say I blame them.

Sitting across from Tokio Hotel in their hotel room, lead singer
Bill is every bit the superhero he projects on stage, to a startling
degree. Stunning, really, but then again, so is Georg. The sight of
Bill in full rock star mode can’t be accurately summed up, but suffice
it to say, the visual effect of his makeup, Mohawk and tight pants is
incendiary and really quite genius. The boys are humble and gracious;
and when I mention the girls on the sidewalk outside of their hotel,
they all grin and inquire more about them. Their fans, you see, are
priority numero uno for them, and I believe it. Tokio Hotel gives what
they get; they connect.

You are so young to have produced a record of such confidence and
maturity. How did the recording process go in comparison with Scream?

Bill Kaulitz: Tom and me, we co-produced this album, for the very
first time, which was really, really cool. So, basically we produced it
with our co-producers from the first record. We’re like one huge family
in the studio. Everyone knows each other very well, so it’s really [a]
family thing. We went into the studio for like, one year, and we tried
so many different things, and this record is more electronic, so it’s a
new sound.

Tom Kaulitz: Essentially, with the production, we wanted to create a new sound [for us].

Bill: Yeah. It was really time for us to be creative and write new
stuff, because we were on the road with the last record for such a long
time. I think in December we played our last concert, with song that I
had written when I was 13! So it was really time for new stuff.

Humanoid as a title is very evocative. What inspired it? Is this self-referential at all?

Bill: No. Humanoid was a feeling we had in our childhood, growing
up in a small village. So we felt a bit humanoid. I think it was the
way other people saw us.

As musicians, you felt…

Tom: As musicians, yes, and persons in general, I think.

Bill: Yeah, from the look and the whole thing. [It] also describes our life right now very well, because it’s not normal.

Tom: We went through all the songs, and we felt that the record should have the name Humanoid.

Lyrically, it feels like this is also an album about alienation
from the world outside your walls, and from meaningful human
relationships in modern day with the use technology, and perhaps more
universally, what it feels like to be a teenager. What are your
thoughts on that?

Bill: Yes. I think we’re really old-fashioned with all of those
things. We have no Twitter, and we’re not on the Internet so much. And
I don’t use my phone! That’s what I recognized last week. I have two
phones, but I don’t use them. They’re just in my room the whole day,
and when I come in my room, I just take a look and I answer sometimes
but sometimes not. I really like writing things down just with a pen
and paper. It’s natural, which I really like. But I think the Internet
stuff is really helpful, actually. For us as a band, it was kind of a
really cool thing.

Tom: Yeah, we really use the Internet to stay in touch with the
fans. To take them with us. We have TokioHotelTV, and everyone on the
Internet can watch us the whole day, what we’re doing.

You really are very interactive. Even your fans that are outside on the street right now are very excited.

Bill: It’s hard sometimes when we can’t get to a certain country.
We always wanted to take [them] with us, and we wanted to take them on
the road so that they can see what we’re doing everyday.

Why do you feel that “Automatic” is the best song to introduce this new sound and this record to the world and to your fans?

Bill: I think it has everything; it has great feeling and the right
power. So, we wanted to have a really powerful song because the record
is really powerful. ‘Automatic’ was one of the last songs we wrote, and
so we felt so good with that song.

The video is crazy, kind of post-apocalyptic!

Bill: Yeah! The video is great. We shot it in South Africa for five days, a long shoot.

Tom: We had a safari hotel, and so it was fun. And different!

This record has such a huge, conquering sound. What do you want the
world and your fans, and even America, to know about Tokio Hotel with
this record?

Bill: We put everything in it. Some artists see it as a job; Tokio
Hotel is our life. We started everything 10 years ago. We met each
other in a natural way. Tokio Hotel is our baby, and we put everything
and so much love into this record. That’s the most important thing –
that the people know we are a naturally formed band.

Speaking of putting of yourselves into it, are the lyrics personal?
Just looking at “Human Connect to Human” and “Pain of Love” or even
“Zoom Into Me,” they feel personal.

Bill: Yeah, they are personal, but it’s not autobiographical all
the time. But yes, there are personal things in every single song. You
collect your ideas every day.

Tom: Yes. I think in every single song, you have your thoughts and your feelings. Everything!

Are you big people watchers?

Bill: Yes! I love to be in shopping malls sitting there drinking a coffee, watching people the whole day. It’s really funny.

When you think of America, what comes to mind?

Bill: It’s huge!

Tom: It’s the beginning for Tokio Hotel.

Bill: I think about the VMA’s!

What do you think it takes to break America?

Bill: Luck at first, and you need really good fans. Our fans are so
cool and really supportive. It takes a lot of work, luck, and really
good fans. –Carrie Alison

En attente de traduction ^^

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