Galaxie Magazine: Kraut Rock

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It'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.


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."


Source: Galaxie Magazine, limviona/THA