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Source unknown - May 2001

Rammstein- Mother’s day – Live in concert"- Interview with Paul


With Rammstein the first thought that occurs is on of sturdy scandals, then one of black romantic murmur and fatly produced industrial metal follows. At the beginning of April Germany’s currently most successful rock export showed up with some proper offspring. On their third album the six Berliners reveal themselves as surprisingly open-minded and ironical artist of exaggeration. Live in concert talked with guitarist Paul Landers about the new record.

LiC: Paul, you really took your time with "Mutter". What were the reasons for a three year’s pause?
Paul: The main problem was, that "Sehnsucht" became a success in other parts of the world with some delay and therefore we were doing concerts for the whole year of 1999 from Canada to Australia. The songs were old, the show was old – quite a hard time. But I don’t want to deny that it was a great feeling to be a part of that league. Going into a small record shop in Tulsa, Arizona, kind of US-pendant of Neubrandenburg, and there is Rammstein section! Directly after the Ramones!

LiC: Do struggles occur with all that stress? You are known as a nearly democratic band.
Paul: Democracy is the wrong word. We are a gang. A herd in which those who bark the loudest succeed in the end. All just camouflage. (laughs). There are always struggles and rows. But it is worth it: I believe we have made a good record.

LiC: The title song could be recognised as a short trip into criticism of society. Together with the artwork it seems to play with the discussion about cloning and manipulation of genes...
Paul: If you think so...I, personally, doubt that Till was thinking of criticising science. We are planning to do a remix with a robot‘s voice. That would be a fascinating image: an android, running through the city, searching for his mother, but there is none because the developers have not thought of this case to happen. If artificial intelligence some day will have the ability of emotions we will have a problem.

LiC: And you seem to be more ironic than ever. In "Spieluhr" the line begins provokingly " A little human being dies" just to add only seconds later sarcastically and twinkling "just for show!"
Paul: (laughs): Here I want to add that often people tend to think something is meant ironically when we were serious and the other way round. We have given up to make a prediction. "Seemann" for example – pure fun for us. To laugh your ass off. Only after the response we received from the environment, it became serious in the end.

LiC: Can you think of any taboos left to break for you in the future?
Paul: We never put up these so-called scandals for the scandal’s sake. Isn’t it the task of a rock band to provoke? But you cannot plan these things artificially – you have to have fun to do it, otherwise people will not believe you. But you are right: the air is really getting thinner.

LiC: If you visualize your music – would there be a military element in the image?
Paul: Well, I think, German things are, from their genuine, a bit morbid and militaristic, like American music always has this soul touch. There is this photo of the worker with a bare upper part of the boy, oily, in black trousers, with a big wrench at a flange with lots of tiny, too tiny, nuts. That’s Rammstein. Maybe.

LiC: The cover artwork shows – next to the foetus in the womb – you all preserved as dead bodies in formalin. Can the audience expect to see water as an element in your stage show?
Paul. We are still experimenting. But water on the stage is a problem. In connection with power this can end up deadly. The conception of our shows always has been a spontaneous thing, with everything possible. But we never have had the situation that we did not know what will be going on nearly until the beginning of a tour. Exiting!



© 2001 unknown