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Breakout.de - August 2004 - Coca Cola, wonderbra and sometimes war

Original Article

It has been quiet for a long time when it comes to Rammstein, the band which critics love best in Germany. Three years after the release of "Mutter" the kings of martial rock are back with their new album "Reise, Reise" - and to anticipate the result – with a lot of courage for changes. The last years were a bit stressful for the six from the area of Berlin – some world tours, new albums, monstrous live acts and always the ambition not only to deliver something audible but also to offer something special for the eye. This leaves traces and engraves on a band. On a sultry Friday afternoon the gentlemen Mr Lindemann and Dr. Lorenz invited us into a luxury hotel in Munich for a nice chat about the new cd, the past and the future.

There have been rumours over the last month that the band had a big dispute and would split up.

Dr. Lorenz: With six people in a band it is totally normal to have an argument sometimes, and then rumours occur, sometimes in the internet referring only to half of the truth of what has been said – we would have told you if it would have been the case. The funny thing is I was told so when I bought some wire in the Sound & Drumland (name of a shop). I asked the salesperson to set up the bill for Rammstein, but he said "Why that? Why do you need a wire for Rammstein, when you have split up?" Well, I thought.

Mr Lindemann: IMO the rumours occured because Richard moved to New York, I went back to Mecklenburg, where I originally come from. And probably someone had given an interview at a wrong place in which something was said about a quarrel – and because everybody thought that Rammstein lived the typical East Germany collective spirit...bla, bla, bla - now this is the end of that band? This has never been the case, and besides, we always quarrel and that’s o.k.

Dr. Lorenz: And furthermore Richard is working on a solo project, but I don’t know how far this has developed.

That is interesting. Richard Kruspe-Bernstein is working on his solo project.

Mr Lindemann: He asked us if he could do something beside Rammstein and we gave him the permission – why not? Richard always has had a great input in the band. Therefore there has been more room for the others to contribute to the new cd. We built up an organic rehearsal situation, in which everybody could take part. And Richard is also working on his solo project, but that’s his thing, and nobody knows how far is has grown. In the meantime I have acted in a picture, Flake and Paul have written a book. As a result we are all able to be more tolerant and open in our band relations. This wasn’t possible in the past. It was "the band or nothing". I am glad that we lowered these restrictions and everybody says: you do your thing; I do mine. Besides, we have made a great album and appreciate this very much.

While listening to "Reise, Reise" one can notice that Rammstein has tried some new paths. With the release of "Mein Teil" they follow the classical Rammstein style but other songs are more poetical and melancholic/ musical ("Amour"- this songs could have been sung by Alexandra [female German singer of popular music in the 60’s] "Morgenstern", "Wo bist Du?")There are also songs in which you can join in a bit, like "Amerika" and "Reise, Reise". The song "Flugangst" [Dalai Lama] could also have been on the album "Sehnsucht". The whole thing is much more varying and maybe the "classic" Rammstein fan will start to ponder and the new fan, who still has to be convinced, will find it easier to like it, thanks to Till Lindemann`s singing. "Reise, Reise" is a trip on the edge for Rammstein, but is has worked out well and it has impressed me.

Dr. Lorenz: You talk like a doctor.

Mr Lindemann: With "Mein Teil" we are back. The boys are back in town. I am a bit angry, because in the beginning I really was getting on everybody’s nerves, when we recorded "Amour", because this is a typical duet thing like the Kylie Minogue/Nick Cave song. The verse sung by a woman would have been nice. But nobody listened to me. Because my word does not count much (grins). But this one (points with a sly smile at Flake) is the biggest pain in the arse. Just look how thin he has become.

Dr. Lorenz: We don’t write songs in the classical way. We just meet in the rehearsal room and play. Totally free, without any given rules. We never really had disappeared in the music scene. After "Mutter" we had been on tour for two years, then six weeks holiday and then we began to work again. The creative process started immediately after the end of the tour. We were really fast, because there were no complications at all. Nothing had to be mixed twice, nothing had to be postponed. Actually this was the first album which worked out like it had been planned, totally fast and relaxed.

Mr Lindemann: The mixing took eight weeks. We had made some more songs, therefore the delay. But everybody was at the right place in the right time. Even Richard was there when he had to be. This time the record really was made in the rehearsal room, like in former times when we came to the rehearsal room with demo tapes and worked the song out there and then. In general this record was made in team work.

The most provocative song on the album obviously is "Mein Teil". The text is about the story of Armin Meiwes – so called "Cannibal of Rotenburg" and points out the abysses of a human being.

Dr. Lorenz: The song isn’t about cannibalism; in reference to this cannibalism is the wrong word. It is a kind of relationship. One person eats the other one with her consent, this has something to do with love and sex and it isn’t cannibalism, the word does not fit here. We don’t sing about cannibalism, we sing about the case of Armin. We don’t break a taboo, we only present the case.

Mr Lindemann: The only question is: which part of the body has to fit in which hole of the body – we know the classic sex, but in this case a totally different kind of sex is concerned. It’s a kind of multiple oral sex!

O.k. But what about the death as a consequence of this sex?

Mr Lindemann: That doesn’t matter! People die because they have taken Viagra (potency pill) or cocaine and have sex with a tart. There the death is also a consequence of the sex. If that what he did had made him happy although he dies, then that is insane, but it is in such an extent insane that it is fascinating.

Dr. Lorenz: We don’t break a taboo. Nobody has any objections against a six page article with coloured photos in the magazine "Stern"- but if we make a song about it, everybody sticks to this.

Mr Lindemann: That’s not true, because the "Stern" was denounced by the press supervision. But is speaks well for the "Stern" that they showed their opinion freely. But even the "Stern", known for polarising, criticising, being strict, has lost in this case, because the story had a thrilling potential as well. But everybody dealt with that story. I guess, the "Bild" (German magazine comparable to the British "Sun") has been sold as good as never before with this story. And we all know that these things exist and do happen. Meiwes actually told the court that in the hours when they had met, he really had loved the victim; even when he had been eating the victim, because he wanted to be part of him. This is a dark kind of love – so the song maybe is a love song. We had "get the chick out of the grave and lay beside her" in the song "Heirate mich"- things like these exist. I find it fascinating.

Dr. Lorenz: That is even more mad as if Till had invented it – if he had written a text about a relationship in which one cuts off the other’s dick and they eat it together and than the person is eaten completely by the other, everybody would have thought what a weird fantasy Till would have had and how insane he must have been. But this story happened and it is the truth.

The song "Amerika" evokes different reactions. A fucking good join-in song, which will be one of the new highlights in the concerts "Amerika, Amerika- Coca Cola- Wonderbra and sometimes war.". But why not more provocation in the text of Till Lindemann?

Mr Lindemann: More provocation? We don’t want to criticize. We already have the problem that people think this is a political song. People suppose Rammstein now to be going political, but we only want to show the facts, like in the case of Armin; this really happens and everybody is part of it. Since the war in Iraq started it is a topic for us. In the rehearsal room we had put up photos from Saddam’s palace in Baghdad; photos from before and after the Yankees had arrived. The Yankees are sitting in the armchairs with an apathetic look in their eyes, smoking, gun at level, occupying. Flake and I looked at the photos and we tried to remember how many wars America had started over the last 20 years. In South America, Latin America, Angola, Korea, Vietnam – they had so many construction sites....Therefore the "Sometimes war". The same goes for Coca-Cola: even in the Mariana Trench you will find one if you will dive into the deep sea. They have put up their flag on the moon- Yankees are everywhere! Even if you buy a German coffee-percolater the manual is in English. You are "americanized" and the sub-culture, like eating, is transferred to the whole world. It spreads like a plague. It’s like a virus, going everywhere, and I would not be surprised if Santa Claus is coming to Africa. We even celebrate "Halloween" in Germany – in former times we in the Eastern part of Germany called it "Fasching". It was the same procedure: children put on masks and dresses, I really liked it; and I liked to wear woman’s dresses then. I was keen on that, it’s part of the dark side in me (grins). Now they call it "Halloween" and they cut off pumpkins. The scary thing about this is that everybody loses his culture and tradition and adopts the new stuff without any opposition. At Christmas time you can find reindeers made of plastic in the front yards in Mecklenburg and people decorate their houses with illumination. I get sick when I see this. We didn’t go on tour for a long time in America because they only have 110 Volts and we have 220, at which the guitars sound much better (bright laughter in the room). And we brought German culture to America. If you ask someone in America to name something German you will hear as an answer: Mercedes, Schumacher (German Formula One driver), AEG (German electronic devise company) and Rammstein. We have become a kind of an institution. I really was enthusiastic about the German government when they decided not to follow America and not to take part in the war. I would have bet before that they would do, but I really appreciate that they said no. But there are still positive aspects when it comes to America: some great movies, great music and great musicians and they are leading in some fields; but I don’t like that "World police" thing.

Dr. Lorenz.: But you cannot resent the Americans for that. We were in the States after the 11 September and saw how they tried to cope with that. In every broadcast programme you could read at the bottom: "We strike back" or "God bless America" as if they were no subject of criticism at all. And then in Oklahoma I saw people watching a tv report about a bombardment of Afghanistan and applauding like they do when regarding a basketball game. It was then when I recognised I fear these people in the room – a dull mass, enjoying a bombardment. I have never been a great fan of Americans, and if we are successful in America or not does not matter to me at all. I don’t have to like everybody who buys my cds.

Beside the before mentioned songs we could listen to the superb song "Los". An unplugged song, showing a totally different, but very likeable side of Rammstein. But up to now it is not decided if the song will be on the album.

Mr Lindemann: Shit, I don’t want to hear that. It’s a good song, but I don’t want it to be on the album. It is a good "b-side" or something like that.

Dr. Lorenz: In general I have a problem with a band singing about itself; it’s dangerous. Like the Hip Hop singers "Hey, here I am, my voice is the mike, my weapon in this street war"; totally embarrassing. Or like the old Rock’n’Roll stars: "We rock and we are Rock’n’Rollers". It’s disgusting, because it is obvious that they are a rock band. The music on "Los" is a dull Rammstein riff and we only took away the riff. The original song sounds a bit like "Wollt Ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen".

Mr Lindemann: There was the opinion in the band to go back to the roots. Like: Look, there is something from the very beginning. So we played a remix respectively a second version of the song. We were sitting in a remote room at the studio in Stockholm and the guitar was handed over between Paul, Oliver, Flake and Schneider. They all tried to reproduce that Morricone melody (music composer Ennio Morricone, famous for his soundtracks for the western movies of Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood; Richard btw is a great fan of Morricone, the whistling on "Engel" was inspired by Morricone). Schneider once had been a blues guitar player, he started the scheme of that melody and he won. I never would have thought that this would end up in a song. I never doubted it won’t be on the album. Only maybe as a hidden track. We will see. I like the original version much more, because there is a really good refrain, which has been cut off in the version you now have.

Last Christmas Rammstein did their fans a big favour and released the dvd "Lichtspielhaus". Well done, but the dvd had a few deficits. Why only a short take out from "The bid day out" in Australia and why not the whole legendary ’96 Arena concert? And there could have been more tv trailers, too.

Mr Lindemann: Concerning the ’96 Arena concert: call Emu, our manager, and tell him to release it. I think the same.

Dr. Lorenz: There were only these shots taken in Australia. It’s a pity but we don’t have more material. The Arena concert in my opinion, too, was quite good. Concerning tv I can tell you that we don’t really like it, because our appearance on tv is always a bit clumsy. This destroys the myth of Rammstein, and therefore tv is the wrong media for us.

Mr Lindemann: In principle we are shit in front of a camera; on stage it is o.k., but interviews and reports don’t work.

Even Rammstein has to face declining sales figures since "Mutter". But the band also has to make up its mind about the fluctuating music industry and its users.

Mr Lindemann: Cd burning and free download via internet are the biggest problems. It’s fucking shit. In my opinion it’s theft of intellectual property, if you can download the music for free. That music is offered to buy for prices which are too high is a truth. But the consequences have to been faced by the record companies. I think the Russians have found a good solution. They have a market called "Kyrilix". They have agreed with the music industry to reduce the price of a cd to its half to earn at least some money. In my opinion that’s a good compromise. It’s crazy, I am walking trough Moscow and there I find recordings of our music I even cannot remember. In Russia we had played a song in a concert in the Russian language. They recorded it and released it. Probably they even recorded us while we were fucking in our hotel room and you also can buy that now. I am curious how this single song download thing will work. The bands have to face the fact that they do not always make smashing hits and people have to buy the bad songs as well. For one Euro I can download one song - a good price. This could turn out as a kind of marketing like it should be. If nothing is going to happen the medium "music" will lose in the end. On tv you now have these "Superstar" contests (All Amerian Idol (?) contest in other countries) and they use all the copyrights of it, like the record companies did, and they make lots of money with it. I don’t appreciate it. The same problem goes for a lot of bands who will never have the chance to become popular. The record companies say: we don’t have the money to give you a contract or to provide you a studio recording. Take Rammstein as an example: what we have experienced with our record company maybe was unique, but they believed in us, invested a lot of money and we are now in the obligation to pay back. There will be a time when we are not bound by a contract any longer, then we can do what we want, but without this record company we only would be a fart in the wind.

© 2005 Richiebaby