Kraut RockIt's like the chicken and egg debate - which came first? Did German emo-pop act Tokio Hotel standout because of their music or did they become huge simply because of their frontman Bill Kaulitz?
Luckily, unlike the chicken and egg scenario, it's not a terribly difficult question. The unanimous and popular answer is simple: Bill.
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With his anime-esque big hair, androgynous look and way-too-skinny
trousers, Bill single handedly grabbed the attention of music fans, DJs
and journos, who initially at least, couldn't decide if the frontperson
was a guy or girl. Once the question of gender had been established
though, Tokio Hotel was all the rage with Bill, the frontman, its star
attraction. Strangely, the only person who remains oblivious to the
number of heads he turns is Bill himself.
"No, Tokio Hotel is all about the music," Bill immediately responds when
asked if he had anything to do with the band's fame. As far as he is
concerned, Tokio Hotel is a package. And that package includes Bill's
identical twin brother Tom on guitar, drummer Gustav Schafer and bassist
Georg Listing. "Tokio Hotel is a visual offering and the only thing I
bring to the band is my personality," he adds during our interview.
Bill states, however, that his flamboyance isn't integral to the band's
success. He claims, rightly so, that when one hears Tokio Hotel's music
on the radio, how the frontman dresses or what he looks like doesn't
factor in.
For the 20-year-old, Tokio Hotel is not about him. It is about a dream
he and brother Tom had when they started writing music at the tender age
of seven.
The brothers grew up in a small salt-mining village in Magdeburg,
Germany that was so far removed from the bright lights of the big city
that few believed they would amount to anything. Yet, despite the odds,
Tokio Hotel has gone on the become one of the biggest acts in Germany
and, on the strength of their major label English debut Scream and hit single Monsoon, the world!
"We were so ready to make music," says Bill. "I know it sounds crazy but
that was all we ever dreamed of." The frontman cannot emphasise enough
that it is the music, and the band's passion for it that resulted in
success. "It is important to be creative and to come up with fresh
ideas," he adds.
The passion has undoubtedly paid off. Tokio Hotel are a multi-platinum
selling act with four No. 1 German singles and sold-out tours to their
name. And the icing on the cake, according to Bill, was playing at the
MTV Video Music Awards in 2008 where they took home the Best New Artiste
accolade.
But while Tokio Hotel did score big with Scream, for their follow-up Humanoid, the band were determined to crank it up even
more. The current album, which was tracked in Hamburg, Miami, and L.A.,
sees the band at its most experimental.
"Monsoon was started 13 years
ago and [this time] we knew we wanted to make something that was new
because we definitely did not want to recreate or top what we had done
previously," states Bill. "Humanoid
is completely different and it was cool to do. But more importantly, it
shows the world what Tokio Hotel can sound like. It's eclectic and
versatile and has some cool vocals."
There are more electronic sounds on Humanoid
too, which complement Bill's dazzling stage persona. When asked, the
frontman picks their first single Automatic
as a good representation of the theme they were going for on the
current album.
"How many things happen automatically everyday?" Bill asks. "The door
opens and closes automatically, shifting gears in a car; a camera lens -
all those are always positive things, but when the mechanical quality
of the automatic meets human things like love, then suddenly it becomes
extremely negative. Love has to be spontaneous and genuine, never
automatic and cold," says Bill of the album's unifying theme.
So a new sound, new subject and new live shows but will fans be able to
connect with the band and their new ideas. Bill is 100% positive, "We
love our fans because they are the loudest of all and do such crazy
things. They always support us, no matter what has happened. And a lot
has happened."
On an unrelated note, these are also
in the magazine,
Going Underground
Various Artistes: Almost Alice [Buena
Vista]
3 and a half stars
Not to be confused with the original soundtrack to the motion picture
which was scored by Danny Elfman, this compilation consists of music
inspired by Tim Burton's version of Alice
In Wonderland. Oddly enough, the selection is not as trippy and
fantastical as the movie. Nevertheless, the CD cleverly capitalises on
today's roster of popular pop/rock artistes, including Avril Lavigne
(lead single Alice), The
All-American Rejects (The Poison),
Plain White T's (Welcome To Mystery),
Owl City (The Technicolor Phase)
and Tokio Hotel (Strange).
Each act contributes a decent track that speaks to particular aspects
of the movie's story but expectedly, other than the overall theme, the
varied styles and sub-genres represented here (from emo-pop to metal!)
make the whole thing sound rather disjointed. Still, the largely catchy,
simple songs will undoubtedly appeal to the young and young-at-heart
and that's really all that matters.