„Americans think we’re some weird German celebrities“
Bill and Tom Kaulitz, this interview is taking place at one in the morning (californian time). Are you nocturnal people?
Tom Kaulitz: For us that’s even early. Our rhythm is pretty skewed. We
always stay up until six or seven in the morning and get up when the sun
is already going down again.
The new album “Kings Of Suburbia” only sounds melancholy, from time to time even optimistic in comparison to your past music, which sounded more gloomy. What happened?
Bill Kaulitz: We found new inspiration in the US, since we’re living a
completely different life here than we did in Germany. It also has
something to do with the fact that we were able to retreat and not do
anything for a long time. Of course we also changed. The music on our
new album feels good to us though. It’s not a concept album where
everything was planned through, we simply started with writing and
producing.
Why didn’t you just decide to work with a popular producer from L.A.?
Bill: We did actually work with a few people from L.A., Rock Mafia for example. But also worked with our old team.
Tom: The first few sessions were really unsatisfying for us, because music wise, it just wasn’t going in the direction we wanted it to. That’s when we realized that we wanted to do everything ourselves. We built up our home studio and recorded songs in different parts of the world. The cornerstone for the album was the song “Stormy Weather”, which has been for three years years already.
Tom: The first few sessions were really unsatisfying for us, because music wise, it just wasn’t going in the direction we wanted it to. That’s when we realized that we wanted to do everything ourselves. We built up our home studio and recorded songs in different parts of the world. The cornerstone for the album was the song “Stormy Weather”, which has been for three years years already.
To what extent were you able to refince your individual specialties in L.A.?
Tom: We were totally able to do that. But it was less because of the
city L.A., even if you do run into international artists and producers
pretty often. We learned a lot here, but what really helped us was the
time. We had five years to master the art of mixing and producing a
song.
Are you not interested in writing German songs anymore?
Tom: This time there aren’t any German ones, because we find it
difficult to translate our lyrics word for word without them losing
their meaning. We already noticed that with our last album. We didn’t
want to go through this process again. Today we either immediately write
the song in English or in German, and with this album we just kept
writing in English so we thought: Let’s keep it that way! We didn’t want
to force anything.
Does Los Angeles feel like home to you?
Bill: We like living here, but we could also decide to go to India tomorrow. There are a lot of things I miss about Germany, that’s why I like coming back once in a while. But I also like going back to L.A.. Home, for us, is where the people live with whom we get along, since we took our family and our dogs with us to the US.
Bill: We like living here, but we could also decide to go to India tomorrow. There are a lot of things I miss about Germany, that’s why I like coming back once in a while. But I also like going back to L.A.. Home, for us, is where the people live with whom we get along, since we took our family and our dogs with us to the US.
Is the album a hommage to life in Los Angeles?
Bill: It’s more a hommage to our own life. Germany just didn’t work for
us anymore, because in the end we didn’t really have a private life left
next to our career. Moving to L.A. was the right decision for us. It
doesn’t have anything to do with the city itself. It’s important for us
to find the right balance between our job and our private life.
Do people in L.A. expect you to take part in the social life of the high society?
Tom: Yes, they totally do. A lot of celebrities there can’t understand
the fact that we don’t want to. We came to L.A. to retract. We didn’t
want to go to any parties, have paparazzi surround us or walk the red
carpet. For a lot of people here that’s normal though, even calling
photographers is. I’m not in the mood for all that when it isn’t an
officially scheduled appointment/date. It bores me – maybe because we
already went through a lot of similar situations. We just want to make
music, and as soon as we get home, we don’t want to have anything to do
with Hollywood. I think a lot of Americans think we’re some weird German
celebrities because of that.
Do you still live together?
Bill: Yes. We couldn’t even imagine living separately from each other.
That would be completely unnatural for us, because we don’t even like
to spend a second without the other.
Did you go through the same experiences/gain the same insights in the US or do they now differ when it comes to certain things?
Bill: Each of us, of course, has some private things going on, but if
Tom has some kind of problem then it immediately turns into my problem. I
actually never need Tom’s advice. He usually already knows about any
problem I might have. If I needed advice I would probably ask a friend
or my mom.
Is your togetherness exhausting for people you work with?
Tom: I know that, from time to time, people would prefer to have only
one of us talking to them on the phone. It’s just that I’m the likeable
twin and Bill the unlikeable one. (Bill laughs)
Bill: I myself sometimes think that we’re exhausting. Since we’re of the same opinion most of the time, people always have to deal with a unit if they go against us.
Bill: I myself sometimes think that we’re exhausting. Since we’re of the same opinion most of the time, people always have to deal with a unit if they go against us.
How often do you meet up, as a band, with the other two band members?
Tom: For a while we only skyped. When everything started again the other
two flew over here a few times. But we’ve also been to Germany in
between, even if it wasn’t often.
Bill: It sounds cheesy, but we’re really good friends. When we see each other again, after a long break, it’s just like it was before. This energy between us is back. For people looking in, especially for our record label, it’s not always easy to get through to us. Sometimes I really feel bad for them.
Bill: It sounds cheesy, but we’re really good friends. When we see each other again, after a long break, it’s just like it was before. This energy between us is back. For people looking in, especially for our record label, it’s not always easy to get through to us. Sometimes I really feel bad for them.
In the video „Bill’s special Pill“ on your website, Bill suprises
watchers with a his drug-related comment: “But with a little Heroin and a
little Cocaine everything works.” Was that a joke or do people have a
legitimate reason to worry?
Bill: Nooo, in this case it was only a joke. Someone who’s a real heroin
or cocaine addict would probably never say that. I can’t lie – we do
have a lot of fun here – I love the nightlife and everything it entails.
However you have to say that the nightlife in Europe is a lot more
awesome than the one in L.A. L.A. is a pretty boring city, but I still
like to go out to party and drink. I really like this feeling of being
alive. In Europe it wasn’t possible to do this that easily. But no, I’m
not a heroin addict!
Bill and Tom Kaulitz, Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer released their
debut single “Durch den Monsun” under the bandname Tokio Hotel in 2005
and immediately took the charts by storm. All their albums were
extremely successful: „Schrei“ (2005), „Zimmer 483“ (2007) and
„Humanoid“ (2009). Millions of girls, especially in Germany, lose their
mind when Tokio Hotel perform.
Five years after their retreat to California the quartet is back –
with a new look and a new sound. The songs from the album “Kings Of
Suburbia”, which will drop on 3. October, are more electronic than their
old tracks and all written in English. Tokio Hotel will be guests at
“Wetten dass…?” on 4. October.
Translation by: Icey @ LoveTH-Music.com
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