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Zillo Magazin - Interview with Paul - November 2005

The journey continues

Paris, Tuesday, 6 September 2005. It’s nearly eight o’clock in the morning when the plane arrives at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. Everything is busy. The French capital already is awake. Keep cool, first orientation at the airport. Instead of taking a taxi we travel by train to town with 30 kilometres per hour. A guy with an accordion entertains the whole compartment with French folk songs. That’s full of flair. After that sight seeing. Notre Dame, Eiffel tower, Father Lachaise cemetery, and in the evening Montmartre with Sacre Coeur in high speed. But in the focus of this day aren’t the typical tourist spots but a German band with over ten millions of sold copies. Of course we talk about Rammstein, the most successful German band after WWII, who will present their fifth album to the music press today.


The band is not present at the eagerly awaited listening session on a typical London (!) bus with big Rammstein logos on it. Instead Universal stuff members make sure that no recording equipment finds a way into the upper compartment of the bus. Safety first. Sure. The trip through town starts at Place de la Bastille, heading along river Seine to the Eiffel tower while nine new songs of “Rosenrot” hammer into the ear. Only nine songs, but that’s enough to get a first and convincing impression. Even when the bus has reached its final destination at the tranquil banks of the river Seine still no trace of Rammstein. So beating time at the Ports des Champs Elysées in deck chairs and patiently waiting for the interviews. Finally, at four o’clock it is time. Paul Landers is the one to welcome the Zillo reporter on the deck of the ship to a tight-scheduled audience with the Eiffel tower in sight and bright sunshine included. That should be enough reason to promote an album in Paris instead of Berlin Paul Landers says. So the location has no deeper meaning but that’s o.k. with the journalists. Quite rapidly it becomes obvious that Paul Landers is a sympathetic person with sane black humour when he starts to talk about the new Rammstein album “Rosenrot” in a relaxed atmosphere. After a bit of skirmish we go down straight to the point because time is limited. But read for yourself:

Zillo: The album should have been called “Reise, Reise Vol 2” first, so why did you change it to “Rosenrot” in the last moment? This title already was in the run for the last album.

Paul: Normally we write roundabout twenty songs for an album and throw away those which do not work. But with the “Reise, Reise” recordings we had the problem that we liked all the songs we had written and therefore had twenty good songs and didn’t know what to do with them. Because we had so much good material we planned to make a second album very fast. As we did not want to put the song “Rosenrot” on the first album it would have been stupid to name the album after a song title which would not be released before the second album. We are not able to explain it to a journalist. Originally we wanted to name the album “Reise, Reise Vol 2” to show the fans that the album was not the beginning of a new Rammstein era but that it would contain songs of the same period like “Reise, Reise”. They are as good as the songs from “Reise, Reise” but there is no musical development. But “Reise, Reise Vol.2” is not emotional enough for a Rammstein record. And when the record company asked us for another name we called the record “Rosenrot” and that it was.

Zillo: So on behalf of the musical point “Reise, Reise” and “Rosenrot” could have been released as a double album?

Paul: At the time being not all songs were ready. As an example the text of “Te quiero, puta” wasn’t done. So we put the already finished songs on the first album and stored all which still needed to be worked on.

Zillo: The relaxed and experimental basis of “Reise, Reise” was therefore still valid for “Rosenrot”?

Paul: Yes, we only had to do three or four more songs, which were recorded afterwards in Berlin. And at that time, we still were relaxed. In former times we had hard fights, like: this has to be red, this has to be blue. One day we realised that there is no distinction into good and bad parts. Take a stanza as an example. If you leave the bass out, some will like it, if you stick to the bass, the other half will say “That’s ace”. We recognised that there always will be people who will like what we do, regardless to how we do it. So we cannot do wrong and we stopped fighting and instead made internal deals. In the song “Benzin” for example you will hear in the stanzas the voices of confused women, and in the part before some children’s voices will sing “hey, hey”. Unfortunately Richard did not like the woman’s voice part, which was Flake’s idea, and Flake did not like the children’s voice part, which had been Richard’s idea. So they made this deal: you will get your woman, I will get my children, and that’s it. The whole production went on like this: you don’t say this word but in return I have to sacrifice my guitar solo. In my opinion you can tell from the album that we have worked in a relaxed atmosphere. You also can notice that we are going to be more melodic but at the same time not worse. You can be melodic and still write good songs.

Zillo: The new record really is very calm and even a bit fateful.

Paul: Yes, I second that. We always give our best; work with the best equipment, the best ideas, the best texts; the best we can do. If people like it, we are lucky, if not, we have worked the same way but have had bad luck. Nobody makes a bad album on purpose. So we were lucky we never did a bad album.

Zillo: Is there a kind of scheme how to create a Rammstein song?

Paul: Everybody takes part in the making of a song. That’s the basis for a good song. But the basic elements are contributions of different members; everybody has had an idea for a song. Sometimes already for a whole song, sometimes it’s only a word, like “Benzin”, as a basis for a refrain and then a whole song is developed from it. But we work it out together.

Zillo: But a track like the Spanish party song “Te quiero puta” isn’t written just by the way, is it?

Paul: Without the trumpets and the singing it is a typical, normal Rammstein song, even if you won’t believe it! It’s a good riff, but not a superb song. Till loves the Spanish language and is able to speak it a bit. We wanted to do a Spanish text for some time already and now Till did it. In the beginning the song had a German text and the refrain was like “Omm, wie er leuchtet, omm, ich bin total erleuchtet….”(“omm,how he gleams, omm, I am totally enlightened…” a pun on the words “ er leuchtet” and “erleuchtet”; third person singular male of “to gleam” and the infinitve of “to be enlightened” which nearly looks and sounds the same, but still have very different meanings) and it started like: “Ich stecke meinen linken Fuß in einen Pfuhl, der stinken muß” (I stick my left foot into a morass, which must stink [maybe a reference to a swamp of sins as an image]). We thought “well, o.k….” but we weren’t happy with the text. So Till entitled us grumblers but tried again. Sometimes Till writes five texts for a song and he hates our grumbling. But in the end it is all right, because we all take part in everything and with this a kind of quality is guaranteed. But maybe some people would even have liked the aforementioned text. Well, Till then worked out a Spanish text for the song and Oli commented that we then should change the originally Arabic influenced melody and should add trumpets to it. And suddenly, to our great surprise, it sounded like a Spanish song. A lucky turnout that the Arabic melody with a fifth in the trumpets, played in two voices, now really sounds Spanish to such a degree.

Zillo: Can you give us an insight into the songs, which weren’t played today, as well?

Paul: Yes. “Stirb nicht vor mir” is a bit a Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers like pop song in six different versions. We are a bit overtaxed right now to choose the right one. We also have a version with a female English singer. Then there is a song…no, I don’t tell you, it’s a secret. And we have a song called “Hilf mir”, a relatively long song. With promoting we prefer to give not too much to the journalists. It’s like with your favourite meal: if you have to eat it five times in a row you cannot enjoy the last one, because it is too much. So we only serve one course and people will think, yes, I love to go there again for eating out. For the same reason we only put eleven songs on a cd, to keep up the good spirits people are in.

Zillo: Like with “Mutter” and “Reise, Reise” you worked on “Rosenrot” with the same production team, Jacob Hellner, Stefan Glaumann and Howie Weinberg. Is this continuity of importance for you?

Paul: The constellation in song-writing has changed since “Mutter” due to some internal squabbling. To have at least one steady point we stayed with the same production team. We would like to have a continuity to guarantee a kind of a basic quality, because with this team we know where we are. “Rosenrot” for example was mixed without being us there, because we were on tour at that time, and because this team will work out our basic sound for sure. They only sent us some mp3 files sometimes so that we could change some details. Routine then is of advantage. But I would not exclude the possibility that we try something else with the next album. Up to now our albums are enough diversified, but if things would work out better or worse with another producer we only will be able to judge if we would have tried.

Zillo: The release info on “Rosenrot” points out the poetic aspect of your lyrics by enumerating Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the Brothers Grimm as a source of inspiration. Would you put Till’s texts also in this tradition of poetry?

Paul: Most of the times I have problems with the official press releases of record companies; they are too praising and too bombastic. But I always have liked Till’s texts, maybe because I am biased as I play in the same band, so maybe I just imagine I like them. When I listened to the radio the other day they played “Du riechst so gut”. Just the sentence “Ein blindes Kind, das vorwärts kriecht/ weil es seine Mutter riecht” is so great; it’s enough for a life, after having said this you can die, in my opinion. What had to be said was said. That’s unrivalled.

Zillo: Rammstein is the most successful German band ever…

Paul: We just received a Word Music Award. Remarkable..

Zillo: Do you feel a great responsibility to the German language?

Paul: No, not really. When we began German was, without any justification, not of interest. Like in Germany shame is felt for everything German. It always has been our task to show to everyone, here and abroad, that being German is nothing to be afraid of. German virtues have their good aspects, too. We always have supported that nobody has to be ashamed of his provenance, regardless to where he comes from.

Zillo: In an interview for “Reise, Reise” you hinted Rammstein had a struggle concerning language, because there aren’t enough titles and words fitting with Rammstein. What do you think about it today?

Paul: Well, at least one could say we run out of taboo topics, and so many well sounding words aren’t left. We try not to repeat ourselves, but we even had to use the word “Mutter” for several times. Maybe we should ease ourselves a bit, because in English all words have been used a thousand times. Because not so many bands sing in German one is not used to the fact that the German language is limited, so we have to use some words more often. “Fleisch” e.g. is a word I like a lot, but we hesitate to use it in a song again. Or what else did your question point to?

Zillo: The question was about the danger of repetition.

Paul: Well, musically we have loads of ideas. But Till is the only one writing texts. And if he does not supply us, we cannot work properly. You cannot sell a BMW without a motor. So we really do hope Till does not run out of ideas, although it is much tougher than in the beginning.

Zillo: You mentioned taboo topics. On “Rosenrot” there are some provocative parts, e.g. the song “Mann gegen Mann” is about homosexuality. Do you mention it because you want to stress a nuisance or is it just for provocation’s sake?

Paul: In the rehearsal room is a big box with the label “provocation” and with every album we draw something out of this box to stir up some confusion. Well, honestly, we can’t do without. It’s in our blood, we love it, we have fun with it. I don’t speak for the whole band now, but our main intention is to get on people’s nerves and to shake the borderlines of good taste. It seems to be our destiny, and I go for it with 100 %. But it does not work properly if you are a soft music band and then think: well, now I will do something provocative. We can stand a lot. I have experienced that people from the East, especially from the Northeast, and three of us are from there, can stand a lot more then people from the West. So we are a bit rawer. When Till is in good spirits he eats a glass, just for the fun of it. But different to other people he even will eat the stem as well. Chew well, always chew well, he says. That always thrills me.

Zillo: So Rammstein can be seen as a kind of rebellion, even if you do not eat glasses?

Paul: Yes, one could say so. I think a band has to be that way. Slipknot or Marilyn Manson are a matter of taste, but they are important. Maybe not so much in a musical way, but what Manson did in the beginning really was ace. I like things which are original and which are considered to be "must haves". It does not always have to be hard, but mostly the tasteless things are the interesting ones. Take the Berlin HipHop label Aggro Berlin as an example. I don’t like Hip Hop that much, but this is great. A guy expresses cheeky and stupid opinions….but it definitely has that “something special”, and I like this tendency.

Zillo: Rammstein’s lyrics are normally spiced with a subtle irony and therefore are open to wide interpretation. Are there still concrete messages?

Paul: The most effective method of education is living up to your own standards and be a good example. I will give you an example: Imagine you walk on the street with a very wise and old man. Somebody approaches the old man and tells him how wonderful the chain is this wise man is wearing. A chain you know he is wearing for 30 years already. The wise man gives the chain as a present to the other man and with this maybe he will change your life, too. If the wise old man only would have told you that you have to give and would not have given the chain away himself, it would not have worked. You have to set an example; then it will work. Our texts just are there, without a special message. But everybody can take of them what he wants; that’s our basic idea.

Zillo: A topic we cannot avoid and which was also was present in the media is the dispute with some fansites. Firstly the site http://www.rammsteinfan.de/ was closed down after a threat with a law-suit of your management and lately you had problems with the English site http://www.rammimages.com./ What’ s your opinion?

Paul: The band was not involved in the measures taken against http://www.rammsteinfan.de,/ management backed us up. For good or bad I don’t know. About http://www.rammimages.com/ I didn’t know anything until a journalists told me yesterday; the band is not involved here, either. It’s the task of our management to protect us, and maybe they sometimes act a bit harsh. But they just want the best…at least for us. Mostly we don’t know anything, to be honest. If I get to know something I try to explore what’s behind it all. But in my experience most of the times both sides are right in a way. With http://www.rammsteinfan.de/ it seemed as if the bad Rammsteiners were closing down a website, but if such things happen the other party is not totally innocent either.

Zillo: At the end a view into the future: there has been some talk about a side project in the house of Rammstein.

Paul: Yes, Richard is doing a solo album, because he as so many ideas he cannot place in Rammstein. And he also wanted to sing. But he is the only one with solo ambitions, with the exception of Oli who has started to learn Flamenco guitar. The rest of us have no additional occupation. Rammstein is enough for us.

Zillo: What about the future? You once hinted that you are now without any record company contracts, and the founding of a band’s own record label is very popular nowadays. An option for you?

Paul: Hm, wait and see. An own record label means a lot of work. I am one of those who rent a bike at the Baltic Sea instead of bringing it with me on the car. Therefore I would have to put up the carrier on the top of the car, then I will not be able to drive through the gateway and have to remove the handlebar and so on…Renting a bike is easier. I do not want the responsibility of a label manager, eventually I do not want to be a singing record company manager. At the moment our manager can revile against the record label, but if he himself is the label then he is on the wrong side. We are looking for a good contract. Maybe we stay with Universal. I, personally, will take a break and then start with new energy with the work on a new album. An album “Hart wie Kruppstahl” (strong as Krupp steal; Krupp being a famous steal producer in wartimes known for quality; historical quote of Hitler. Has became a saying in Germany). Because I really would like to do something harder, but if it will turn out that way we will see.

© 2005 Richiebaby