(15.02.2010)

Bill Kaulitz in the interview:
“It is my absolute dream album”

In two weeks the new album of Tokio Hotel will be released. “Dream Machine” is the new work and for Bill Kaulitz (27), it is his dream album. The boys are currently in Berlin and rehearse for their tour. Laura from klatsch-tratsch.de met the gentlemen at the “Iconist” award in Kreuzberg and talked to Bill about the new album, fashion and inspiration.

You recorded an LP all by yourself for the first time. How was that?
We started making the album at the Red Bull Studio in Berlin and put the foundation here. Tom and I have a studio in Los Angeles and had written all by ourselves. Without any stress. Our label has given us the complete freedom to do everything. They did not hear anything until the end. About ten days ago we showed you the finished record.

Were you afraid they might not like it?

(10.02.2017)

Tokio Hotel: “We were drowned by this Madness”

Does Their New Style Revive the Four Germans?

10 million albums sold and hysterical crowds, then nothing, or almost … Years after their global success, Tokio Hotel returns. Encounter with a phenomenon.

The pre-adolescent audience has a defect: it grows. And turns away quickly from those it had adored. The Tokio Hotel group paid the price. Between 2005 and 2010, the four young Germans, including the Kaulitz twins, sold 10 million albums. Their piercings, tattoos and haircuts unlikely triggered hysteria … before they gradually fell into oblivion. Today, Tokio Hotel is trying to be reborn. A new album, Dream Machine, a European tour … Meeting in Berlin with survivors of the glory.

Looking back, how do you explain the success of Tokio Hotel?

Bill Kaulitz (singer): Listen to the lyrics of our songs. They talk about failed loves, drugs, suicide … These themes are disturbing but speak a lot to teenagers. Because being young is one of the most difficult things to live with. I was depressed at this point in my life. Going to school was like going to war.

Tom Kaulitz (guitar player): We stopped school at 15 years old. We dressed up anyhow, we put on makeup as we wanted … Our way of life was a kind of fantasy for all rebellious pre-teens.

Precisely, you were never afraid to depress these young ears?

B.K : I never wanted to write accountable texts, to tell my fans “that’s bad, do not do it.” Perhaps that was also the key to our success: we did not consider ourselves teachers.

What do you remember about those years?

(05.02.2017)

Tokio Hotel: Dream Machine

Everything starts with a thought and suddenly you are dancing through your own wonderland full of fruits and sweets! Friendship, respect, an almost unshakable self-awareness in one’s self, the vision of being, the curiosity of life, an insatiable thirst for development, to create something together, to achieve and to experience …

If you look at Tokio Hotel, it is all these qualities that form the basis and the impetus of an incomparable career. The career of a German band, which simply does not fit into any drawer. And so also the one or the other tried hard, Bill and Tom Kaulitz, Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer always remained the architects of their world. After more than a decade in the international music business, 70 platinum, 160 gold awards, more than 110 international and national prizes, and over 7 million sold phonograms, Tokio Hotel will release their new art project and fifth studio album “Dream Machine” on March 3, The proof that they are always able to reinvent themselves.

“Dream Machine” opens the door to the new sound world of Tokio Hotel. A world with high mountains, deep valleys, wild rivers, dense forests and endless expanses. A world that pulsates, glows in neon colors and club lights – light, playful, spherical and enthralling. Built on a sound foundation, a symbiosis of alternative indie pop, analogous Retro-synths, modern beats and strong Baselines, without rules. “This is the album that we always wanted to make – just us four, without anyone chatting us. We started with the last record. Since we have tried and fueled self-consciousness. At “Dream Machine” we knew right from the beginning that we were doing it alone. We did not need any producer in between or any songwriters. We did not feel like we needed this back-up. We felt able to have full control, creativity, the songs and what we wanted to make and say – in sound, in production, and also with our lyrics. That is why it is not only our dream album, because no one is talking to us anymore, but also because, as a band, we were finally able to realize ourselves honestly musically, “explains Bill.

(04.01.2017)

Interview: Bill und Tom Kaulitz von Tokio Hotel
“We had to save ourselves”

They were teenie superstars, at Tokio Hotel in 2005 and 2006. Then they fled the screaming fans to Los Angeles. A conversation with Bill and Tom Kaulitz about how their stars have changed.

Stuttgart – Tokio Hotel were never really gone. Today, however, they make electronic music and (1/2) live in Los Angeles. In the interview, they tell you why they escaped to America before their fans and what freefom they have today.

Hello Bill, hello Tom, 2006 I was with you at a concert in the Stuttgarter Schleyerhalle. There were very many very young, very loud screaming girls. In 2017 you play in Wizemann. Who is coming to your concerts today?

Tom: Today as then – people with a good taste of music.

Bill: There are many who have grown up with us. They have been with us since we released our first song in 2005. This is probably a nostalgic thing. There are new people, too, because the music is quite different now.

How did you develop yourself musically over the past few years?