Back

Interview with Schneider. Zillo Magazine Aug/Sept03

The fall of the Wall didn’t only reunite the German people. No, the productive influence of east and west of this reunification also brought out, almost hurled out a completely independent product of the reunification. That’s to say: Rammstein! In 1995 the six guys brought out their album "Herzeleid", followed in 1997 by "Sehnsucht", then in 1999 came "Live aus Berlin", and in 2001 one called "Mutter". Rammstein, a name like a hammer, whose elemental power shook the media world, whose actions themselves did not go unnoticed in the States. Rammstein, a Band that indicated continuous success in an ephemeral sea. Rammstein, so far a story of scandal, self-reliance and enormous success. Zillo spoke with drummer Schneider about the past and the future.

Zillo: Without the Fall of the wall Rammstein would probably never have developed. How do you evaluate retrospectively the German reunification?

Schneider: First of all, what you say is correct! Certain things happen simply because history is like that, that’s how it is. If one a small detail were changed, then a completely different outcome would have developed. We would probably not sound as we do, if we were not from the east. And if the wall had not fallen, we would not have a record contract. Clearly, everything happens in a certain way. For us, as musicians, it was enormous luck that the wall opened up, because otherwise we could never have so much commercial success.

Zillo: Just about everyone has to overcome financial difficulties at times. The majority of people tend to spend a disproportionate amount of money when they have it again. With the success of Rammstein did you succumb to this temptation, flinging money about or did you think ahead investing funds?

Schneider: That can happen, one must always be aware of that so you can take precautions because as a musician you earn money only sporadically and don’t have the continuity of money as in other occupations. When we earned the first money and then more money than we were used to, there was problems and confusion. It is not that anyone went on a spending spree but it stopped any more worries about not having money. Could one live again then as we did before? Actually, the problem is that one worries about not having enough anymore. A few years ago one would still have said, oh, if I had more money then I’d have no more worries at all, no more concerns. But the concerns go right on and it is very hard to get away from that.

Zillo: Rammstein has established itself very quickly in the music business and for a longer time, today that is already quite rare. Rammstein are probably threatened by illegal downloads and pirate copies too, so your existence is just as endangered as that of the record companies. How do you stand on these illegal practices? Is it in the spirit of Punk?

Schneider: We came from Punk, and in principle I find it good that from time to time an anarchic aspect emerges, made possible by the Internet. From the viewpoint of Rammstein or a musician, naturally I would prefer it if we could sell more records. There have been large losses. It began approximately 3 years ago. With the last two albums we were at no. 1, however sales decreased back in Germany with the last album by around 20%. That is of course quite drastic and difficult for the whole industry. People dismiss it as crazy. Naturally it is not only due to the downloads but also because of the simplicity of copying music. I had hoped that quality would show through because abroad our sales increased strongly. But the market is flooded by music that it does not needed. I think that 80% of the releases I would not want. But music, which is of good quality I would always buy. Grönemeyer sells many records. If I don’t like a song so much I don’t go into the shop and buy the single, I perhaps download it myself. The question of quality is for me an important aspect. Perhaps then this flood of releases will decrease.

Zillo: A new Rammstein DVD is released shortly. What can we expect?

Schneider: You will be able to watch all the video clips on this DVD. I find this very interesting because you can’t obtain this collection anywhere. The videos only ran briefly for the singles on the music channels. In addition there are plans to release some rare Live footage and the ‘Making Of's’ of the videos. The DVD will probably be released before Christmas, maybe in September or October.

Zillo: Can we expect 5.1-surround sound?

Schneider: Technically they are quieter than the original masters as the video sound has been compressed for TV, the full sound will probably be put on again. We will decide at the end how we will mix the sound in the studio.

Zillo: When will a new album be released?

Schneider. We are already in production and we want the record out by next year, in the Spring, or definitely at the beginning of the Summer.

Zillo: Do you already have a concept that you want to use for it?

Schneider: Not really. That isn’t the way it works for us, we don’t say now that we want to do things a certain way. We work a little differently as a rule, more in groups. Our guitarist Richard lives in New York now, so he is in Berlin less. Therefore a new way of working has developed. We don’t have a concept for it.

Zillo: Have you already thought about what you want to do, if one day, Rammstein no longer exists?

Schneider: Yes, one thinks of this from time to time already because you know that nothing lasts forever. Already, we have been together for nearly ten years and we have all, more or less, decided to stick with music. Mostly we want to make music. Till is trying out being an actor and he has a role in a children’s film. We would all like to try this out ourselves but actually we would prefer to form another Band.

Zillo: Do you know what the film is called that Till is in?

Schneider No, I don’t know.

Zillo: Thanks for the interview and continued success.

Schneider Thanks for the chat.

Frank Rummeleit
Zillo Magazine

© 2005 Sue Lindemann