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Hard and Heavy (French) - October 2005

A FLOWER IN THE RIFLE

They have only just completed their last world tour, and German band Rammstein are already offering us their new delivery, Rosenrot (Red Rose), consisting of songs that weren't used on Reise Reise, and also entirely new songs. As everyone knows their love for France (Amour... Amour...), it is no surprise to find Till and his group again in Paris, on the banks of The Seine, the place they chose to establish their Kommandantur.

Monday, September 5th 2005 is a day that will remain in our memory ! Actually on that very day did the German boys of Rammstein choose to conquer Paris aboard their battleship (see the album cover). For three days the group invited the European press into our capital, in order to make us listen to nine out of the eleven tracks that will appear on their new record Rosenrot, to be released on October, the 24th.

Everything began at 9h30 A.M., when a London double-decker adorned with Rammstein colours opened up its doors for us. « Thanks for signing that discharge in duplicate, it guarantees you will not put the interview recordings on the internet and you will not make CDs and sell them. » The tone was set. True paranoia. The portable CD players we were given were scealed. It didn't matter, just as "Benzin" started the bus moved off with his bunch of helmet-headed journalists for a major sight-seeing tour of Paris (tragically omitting the Eiffel tower!), in order to show Europeans the charms of our capital. How nice to listen to "Zerstören" (to destroy) at full blast while driving up the Champs Elysées !

After more than one hour and a half of tourism it was time to get off next to Rammstein's headquarters, the Batofar, a café-concert boat moored at the bottom of the TGB main stairways (TGB = Très Grande Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, Grand National Library François Mitterand). We walked down into the holds where we listened to the nine songs once more, on a big sound system for that time.

One hour later we found ourselves with Till Lindemann and his interpreter, then with Christoph Schneider who was also accompanied by his female interpreter. In spite of the short, germanly-managed timing, we succeeded in worming information out of the 2 musicians.

Till Lindemann

Why choose France as a meeting point for European journalists ?

We were fed up with going all around the world ! (laughs) We've just finished off touring and we didn't feel like going to London, Amsterdam or Madrid to meet journalists. Paris is at the center of Europe, and who wouldn't like to spend some time in such a beautiful city ?

Do you consider Rosenrot being the continuation of Reise Reise, or is it totally independent ?

This is a quite difficult question. I'd rather say this is all about cycles. I see Rosenrot like the brother of Reise Reise, or like a different branch in the same tree. But these two records are totally independent. Each one exists by itself. The time elapsed between Reise Reise and Rosenrot was very short. We took a fair amount of songs, ideas, rythms and sounds out of Reise Reise to make the last album. The 2 albums were cast in the same mould, so to say. They both share the same feelings, the same impressions.

The lyrics of songs like « Mein Teil » and « Amerika » were rather direct. This time we had the impression they sounded more poetic and less provocative...

It is true you can find more poetry on Rosenrot than on our previous albums, but we're still developping many various themes. For instance, "Mann Gegen Mann" talks about homosexuality, and Zerstören" is about the infantile destruction drive.

How did you get to write such intimate words about the inner torments of somebody discovering his/her homosexuality ?

It came after a night out with some gay friends. We were in Berlin and I showed my neighbourhood to them. It's a place where gay people like to meet : they' ve got gay clubs and bars around, and so on. As we were in one of these bars, it surprised me to see how easy it was for them to communicate. They meet merely by looking into each other's eyes. However, between men and women, there's all this chatting up and seduction ritual going on. That difference inspired "Mann Gegen Mann" lyrics to me. The verse « fate has given me a gift » explains this simple and carefree way to meet each other. I also point out the fact you can't have children when you're gay. I mean it's nice to have some, but it's also a source of problems gay people don't have to deal with. Their life is much simpler as it seems.

HOLA QUETAL ? ! (Hi, how are you ?!)

Did the idea to record « Te Quiero Puta » occur while recording Reise Reise in Spain?

Yes and no... I really love the Spanish language, and I think it's quite close to German, notably because both languages roll the « r » the same way. We also scan our languages pretty much the same way. If you want a strong refrain, you need strong lyrics. We had composed "Te Quiero Puta" a long time ago, but we didn't really have a refrain. Then I came up with that sentence, « Te Quiero Puta », I proposed it to the other band members, like I always do with Rammstein texts, and they all liked it ! Reise Reise was number 1 in Mexico, and it made us want to pay a tribute to this country. This is how « Te Quiero Puta » was born. It's relatively the same process that lead to Moskau on Reise Reise.

Do you prefer the humourous Rammstein, like on "Te Quiero Puta" and "Benzin", or the more poetic and nostalgic side of the group we hear on « Wo bist du ? » and « Ein Lied » ?

It depends... I really separate live shows from recordings. When playing live I prefer the high-paced tunes which address the audience more directly. I love to see people react in front of me, I need that feedback to surpass myself. I'd rather see the fans jumping all around than raising their lighters !
However, when we're recording, my preference goes to the quieter songs, which allow more reflexion, with more romantic lyrics.

You're about to release a DVD filmed at Les Arenes in Nimes. What did you think about this concert and about your own performance ?

(laughs) All our shows are pretty much the same. The only differences come from the mood we're in at the moment : whether we're ill or not, whether we're feeling good, whether we drank a little more Porto than as usual... In the latter case we forgive ourselves more easily if we messed up something ! What was unforgettable for me regarding the Nimes concert, was the atmosphere, the place itself and the sound. All conditions were gathered to make a wonderful concert . Of course, last winter's Bercy concert (11/02/2005) was also a very unique moment. The French audience is really extraordinary. As a matter of fact they're as impulsive as the Spanish or the Mexican. I'm very much impressed by their temperament.

During last February Bercy concert, what did you think about your interpretation of "Mein Herz Brennt" and "Ohne Dich" in collaboration with the Apocalyptica cellists ?

I really loved that experience ! In the beginning I thought jamming with Apocalyptica could be dangerous, because any music that's only instrumental and with no singing in it can quickly become tiresome or boring. When we listen to one of this group's record, after 4 or 5 songs, it starts straining your ears. But to answer your question, I haven't the slightest regret for having made it, it was unforgettable.

Since you are constantly playing a large number of new songs, there is less and less time left for your classics. Do you think you've played them too much ?

Every human being changes. It's the same with clothes : one cannot always wear the same outfits. We do not wish to stagnate, put an end to our evolution. Sometimes we add older songs at the end of our set for the encores. We can't do the same as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and play the same tunes for twenty years. We choose the best tracks of each album, and we also prefer those which go with stage effects and allow performance. We' ve been giving concerts for 10 years, and we try offering something new on each tour.

Have you already thought of new pyrotechnics effects for your next tour ?

The Reise Reise tour has just ended for us, even if some people might think we haven't played in their country for ages. Presently we're feeling the echo of the tour inside of us. We will certainly not start touring again before mid- 2006 or the beginning of 2007 even. We will think of designing new stage effects after having decided what songs we wish to play.

CHRISTOPH SCHNEIDER

Can you tell us about the conception of Rosenrot ?

Some songs come from the Reise Reise sessions, to which we've added 5 entirely new tracks. Rosenrot is Reise Reise ‘s second part. That is also why we are not promoting it a lot.

In the course of last year, there was some talk that Rosenrot –supposedly named Reise Weiter- should contain covers. Why did you drop the idea ?

We made a few attempts. At first we could hardly reach an agreement on the songs we wanted to cover. Then we realized that what we played wasn't that good. So we decided to drop it and start writing new songs, all the more since we all had interesting ideas to offer.

Was it easy for you to write in harmony with the older songs you composed for Reise Reise ?

Absolutely. We didn't ask ourselves so many questions, the songs came very naturally and they happened to fit perfectly the mood we were looking for.

Did you work once again with an orchestra and choir ?

No, not this time. We had no need for that, and even if we had, we could not have arranged it cause we were limited by deadlines. The only outside collaboration is the Mariachis who play the trumpet on « Te Quiero Puta ». But I don't think you can say it's an orchestra ! (laughs)

Once more you've been working with Stephan Glaumann and Jacob Hellner. Do these two persons embody the Rammstein sound ?

Yes indeed. We're not like these American groups who change producers with each new record. We have built very close relationships with Stephan and Jacob, and they belong to the Rammstein family. We partly owe our success to their work, so we have no reason to work with anybody else. Moreover, it's much simpler and easier to work with people we know. In the past we had to meet together in the studio for weeks only to discuss what kind of sound we wanted to have. Now everybody is on the same wavelength and understands what the Rammstein sound is. And noone in the group wants to start this arguing all over again with some possible new producer ! Today we only have to make them listen to our demo mp3s, and they know what we want right away. It is really simple working that way, and we're not interested in making things harder.

Did you record some bonus tracks for possible singles ?

No. We will go on offering remixes made by people we like. We'd all stocked lots of ideas at home in Berlin on our computers, but we had no time to record anything else than the 11 tracks which will appear on Rosenrot.

You've just won an award for « best worldwide selling German group of the year. » Is this kind of award meaningful to you ?

We didn't know about this award presentation. Our management told us about it by mail yesterday, saying we had won this award in Los Angeles ! (laughs) It doesn't mean much to me, provided it's always nice to be rewarded for the work you've done. So I'm pleased about it, but I won't start jumping for joy.

Rammstein is known worldwide by now and you're enjoying phenomenal success. Is it easy for you to still keep going and set new goals for yourselves ?

I don't think success is part of the things that motivates us. What we want in the first place is to have fun writing the songs we like. Our greatest motivation is still to see people taking pleasure in our concerts.

Some time ago there were tensions within the band. Is it over now or do you still have conflicts ?

Everything's fine today. We managed to root the evil out while it was still time to do it. We talked together, discussed every problem thoroughly and did what was necessary to find solutions. We found many safety valves, and one of them was to allow Richard to express himself through a solo-career.

Long tours musn't make it easier...

That's right. This is the reason why we're going to take a pause before we come back together again.

What do you mean ? Right now ?

Yes, we're doing a little bit of promotion for Rosenrot, and then we mill take a 6-months break at least.

So there won't be any tour to support Rosenrot ?

There's nothing planned at the moment.

And when you'll come together after 6 months or more, will it be to start working on a new album ?

Probably. But we will check everything is still going allright between us to begin with, see what everybody wishes to do, and then, I think, start thinking of a new album. Rammstein ‘s benn there for 10 years and we've had too few occasions to step back a little. And we all agree on the fact we absolutely need to know if what we do is still OK or if we're starting screwing everything up. As things are now it's very difficult for us to make judgements on our work. A break will allow us to be more objective towards ourselves.

You cancelled your South America tour in October on the pretext one of the band was ill. Was that just an excuse ?

No ! (laughs) It is the truth. Our keyboarder, Flake, has been suffering from an intoxication for some time, and we didn't know if he would be healed on time for that tour. We would never cancel a tour at the last moment cause one must show a little respect for the people one is working with and also for the audience.



© 2005 Aeon for 'Verboten!'