INTERVIEW: Featured in Intro Magazine!

Twins are a challenge. Because they’re equipollent, proto-bold and there is a risk of being confused. With their double-identity Tokio Hotel have been inspiring and polarizing for years now. Kerstin and Sandra Grether, Intro’s very own twins force, met the two in Hamburg and explain the phenomenon, the music and all the rest.

Twins are a challenge. Because they’re equipollent, proto-bold and there is a risk of being confused. With their double-identity Tokio Hotel have been inspiring and polarizing for years now. Kerstin and Sandra Grether, Intro’s very own twins force, met the two in Hamburg and explain the phenomenon, the music and all the rest.

“Many people have got an idea about us and therefore react quite automatically. Especially during encounters that are automatically happening all day long.” (Bill Kaulitz)
But what were aliens to say to describe the phenomenon Tokio Hotel if they’d been sent to Earth from a curious planet? It’s quite possible that they could discover many beautiful things on the first two albums by that “most popular and most unpopular German band” (FAZ). For no other German-speaking band managed to produce such everyday-rebellious Fantasy-Rock for a young, primarily female, target group since Nena’s epic early work. On top of that using an original mixture of styles that even demands more on itself aesthetically than merely to work.

What It Feels Like For A Girl, Boy
Above all those aliens would be astounded that a pop singer wearing a leather jacket, eyeliner and long dreadlocks suddenly could move heaven and earth again and could polarize – just because he also enjoys highlighting his feminine features.

Those aliens would possibly remember the beginnings of what we call pop-culture: that decade after the Second World War when Americans invented the word “teenager“ as a marketing term and when media verbally abused mass-hysteria-causing Frank Sinatra all the time because he wasn’t wearing a uniform and didn’t seem masculine in the traditional way. Now, assuming there would be TV, media and pop culture history on that far-away planet: Then wouldn’t our aliens notice that blurring gender boundaries has been a piece of cake on the field of pop culture for decades? Ranging from the pale, bisexual Bowie to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong: the “Crush With Eyeliner” (R.E.M.) has always catered for highest credibility values amongst a male audience and hasn’t riled up anyone in the artificial Anglo-American pop galaxies for a long time. Until Tokio Hotel’s brave ride through the monsoon of German authenticity hell.

This briefly curdles our aliens’ blood with all their heart and mechanic soul. They picture: two enigmatic, cool mythical creatures on a schoolyard in an East-German small town, circa 2005, in the aggro-Pocher-wonderland [nb: the Pocher bit might be a reference to Oliver Pocher, possibly], in those swampy zero-years [meaning the 2000s; 2005, 2006 etc] of the grand coalition with all its adults around calling authenticity and rationality so they don’t have to feel all of their own madness…

And what else than this romantic, full of guitar riffs, sexy scream for self-determination in which Tokio Hotel have already included their experiences with daily contradictions on schoolyards in the countryside can one wish for for a 15-year-old girl that grew up with internet porn and women-deriding rap songs in the charts – therefore being a time when “whore” was able to become another word for woman? Yes, individualism is an eminently respected possession in the Tokio Hotel universe. With it the differently styled twins-team reinvented and went beyond the format [of a] “teenager band”. It’s what the primarily female fans are really interested in. How does one do it – to go one’s own way?

Given the four emo boys’ enormous power to polarize one could’ve already known: Not at all Tokio Hotel fans are only screaming morons. By clicking through fan forums one realizes quickly that they’re often able to reflect their fandom and the band critically and humorously. That doesn’t stop all those ridiculing and frighteningly homophobic public voices – as in all cases of Teen Scream – to constantly insinuate the girls would’ve fallen for a gigantic scam. However, it has long been part of the fan code to rebel against such a dull know-it-all attitude, against this whole jaded, sexually envious, male anti-pop reflex! As with every intensely lived subculture it also sharpens all five senses for an independent and creative existence (and on top of that the sixth sense of anticipating perils).

However, future is making a thousand starts just like Rock’n’Roll dies a thousand deaths. It surely isn’t a coincidence that while they’re tracing their own glorious way Tokio Hotel are now quoting Frank Sinatra’s evergreen “My Way” in their happy-cryptic science-fiction anthem “Dark Side of the Sun” (German version: “Sonnensystem”): “Hello! The end is near, hello, we’re still standing here—the future’s just begun, on the dark side of the sun.”

Humanoid
“Humanoid“, being human-like at the most, is the title of the third album with which the band dares to change the known TH-sound in a grown-up and playful way. It includes plenty perfect pop songs dressed up as Goth Rock: beautiful and sick, complex and to sing along, void of meaning and full of meaning and all of it at the same time. Surely that’s also down to the influence of well-known international song-writers like Guy Chambers (of Robbie Williams fame), Desmond Child or The Matrix with whom Tokio Hotel and their team of song-writers collaborated on a few songs. With electro-beats and soaring vocals the guitar-driven hit “Automatisch” condemns mimetically that the opponent becomes machine-like and at the same time it celebrates its all-out-of-love existence as if in trance. The previously mentioned Glam-Rock manifesto “The Dark Side Of The Sun” which refers to Terry Pratchett’s novel of the same title even exceeds Glam-Rock classics because the megalomaniac panicky setting it’s creating – being this cute and extreme Tokio-riot – is already in full swing: “On the TV, in your place, on the radio oh. It’s a riot, it’s a riot, they say no, oh.” The song announcing “radio hysteria” has a so-called perfect pop song’s abilities to separate extraordinariness from ordinariness. It also gives a worthy answer to this style-conservative Rock decade that is constantly searching for its superstars and cursing them – and then can’t help but to either love their individuality or rather hate it after all.

The combination of spontaneity and strategy as well as the high level of self-made stylization that turned into songs are what make Bill and Tom Kaulitz world-wide superstars in the sensationalist pop-arena. After all this decade’s ideal consists of the ability to artfully channel emotions, of having a voice that counts. At that Bill Kaulitz’ voice and his notorious, touching facial expressions have nothing of the vain coldness with which David Bowie or the singer of HIM, Ville Valo, once wore their war paint. He consternates and exhilarates with [his] warmth and humor. And with thousands upon thousands of on-line documents he gets fans all over the world hooked on his and Tom’s presence in the media. Especially since twins have always been used as a powerful projection screen for society’s desires. Their environment sees something special in them, therefore treats them as outsiders and fights the symptoms of that special status at the same time.

Twin Towers
Gosh, we’re pretty nervous prior to the interview. After all it’s not every day that we’re meeting identical, extraordinary twins who, like us, are from a village at the end of world, addicted to coffee and avoiding the sun and who insist on instigating a riot.

Then suddenly Tom and Bill are standing in front of us, really like very tall (1.90 metres!) dark angels, dressed in lots of black including striking white contrasts. Mimetic like their songs that change between light and dark. The boys seem very nice, are in a jocular mood and also a bit nervous on that early interview day. They exude a lot of energy so that a vivid conversation develops quickly. Drummer Gustav and bassist Georg are not with them. Tough luck. After all it’s a meeting amongst twins.

What does “Humanoid“ mean to you?

Bill: The song has got lots of many different melodies and influences. And that’s exactly what “humanoid” means to us: a feeling of being torn and not knowing where one belongs to. We rid ourselves of typical song structures and built the song up like a story – with ups and downs.

How did that new sound come about anyway?
Tom: We just wanted to try a few different things. We’ve had the best technical opportunities for it. It was our aim to have huge songs and to include something new sound-wise.
Bill: It really involved lots of work on details. During the last days we barely slept and messed about until the very end. Tom and I also co-produced the album!

How does one have to picture the song-writing process with you?
Tom: Back in the day 90% of our songs were written on an acoustic guitar and all of us then looked how they could be transposed in the studio. This time it was a case of us composing and recording in the studio straight away.
Bill: For example, our producers played something to us and said: like this and going in that direction. Then Tom played guitar along to it or I was singing something along. The way the songs got written was different all the time.

The song “Automatisch“ sounds as if you’d want to return the projections that some people have on you as celebrity kind of guys or as a band: [meaning] that you were “created“ and work like a machine etc.
Bill: Excellent that someone sees it! That’s exactly what’s meant by the song. Many people have got an idea about us and react quite automatically. Especially during encounters that are automatically happening all day long. One only gets a little genuineness out of people when one meets them.

Tokio Hotel have to meet the requirements of an internationally successful act. Obviously that goes against your view on a pop production…
Bill: Clothes, song lyrics, music: to me all of it belongs together. After all it’s all about an emotion that one wants to carry. I also very much like to take photos myself and am up for all this fashion stuff. One can always fulfil many of their little dreams that way.

[to Bill] We’ve had the theory that you went his [Tom] way of hairstyle because he didn’t want to go yours.
Tom [laughs]: Let’s put it this way. All my life I’ve been some kind of idol to Bill.
Bill: When I decided on the dreadlocks I didn’t think about his at all – because I thought they were awful! Those were like the natural kind. And I wanted completely different ones.

Has there ever been a phase in your life as twins where you didn’t attract attention?
Bill: When one was out and about on their own it wasn’t much of an issue. However, everybody obviously talks about you if you turn up together. Also because both of us look so differently.
Tom: It has also been like that back in the day.
Bill: There’s nothing better than being identical twins. I can’t imagine it any other way. Tom and I, we’re just really like one, we’re soul mates. I can’t manage one day without him.

All of the enthusiasm this sparks aside, there surely must be many people that are scared of such powerful unity.
Tom: We’ve definitely encountered that many times! That’s exactly the reason why we’ve been transferred in year seven. Teachers said that our opinion would’ve been too strong for them.
Bill [laughs]: If Tom and I share an opinion, then there’s no getting around it. That’s pretty tough. Also for the people on the team.

Obviously you sticking together related to being twins doesn’t comply with the standards of a competition-driven society.
Bill: Yes, that really is something special.
Tom: All people always thought: how extreme are they that with being dressed so differently they’re even talking to each other.
Bill: Just thinking along the line of: Why is someone who obviously listens to hip hop hanging out with that kind of guy who’s got painted eyes?

Therefore you’re living the vision of a really tolerant society. Because it would be great if those kind of hip hop guys and these kind of feminine guys would get along.
Bill: Would get along, yes exactly!
Tom: I think people could complement each other incredibly well if they’d get together some more. As a result of everybody having different opinions, thank god for that, one complements each other tremendously well.

[It’s] quite shocking that your teachers dissed you. After all they should've protected you from the bullies!
Bill: Yes, exactly. Instead the teacher even told the other students of his new class to ostracize Tom when we got transferred for disciplinary reasons.
Tom: That only got out the other day! My best friend was in that class and he told me.
Bill: However, we didn’t let it happen.
Tom: We’ve always polarized. It was good preparation for [what’s happening] these days.

After all the fans love you for that courage and it’s great that you inspire girls to be really creative themselves.
Bill: They put their song lyrics and demos and drawings in our hands wherever we go. That’s really cool.

The aliens radio to their planet: Once Tokio Hotel used to stir up things on schoolyards; however, “Humanoid” could also convince grown-up skeptics that have only seen them as plain poster boys so far. Tokio Hotel are too good to only be a guilty pleasure. That’s one of the last truths that can still be wrested from this decade.

Interview and German original text by: Kerstin and Sandra Grether
Photos By: Katja Ruge
Credit: Official UK Fanclub & Street Team