Information
Date: July 2, 2001
Source: Kaista
Interviewed: Richard
Translator: English translation from Finnish by
Aisling
Interview
Part I
Kaista:The German band Rammstein
is known all over the world as a merciless and hard music machine, whose
flashes of genius someone like Metallica these days would be ready to
pay millions for. Their massive live show has become their second trade
mark and it also drew Kaista like a magnet to southern Germany. The red
and black haired guitarist and songwriter Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein
agreed to tell us about what have taken place lately before the concert
in Munich. And who claimed that these guys don't speak English at all?
They really do. Richard:We were extremely
nervous during the first concerts on this Mutter tour. The whole damned
show was put together in a couple of months and we didn't have the time
to play the whole set through once before the first concert in Nürnberg!
The band is although happy with the first part of the tour. The most
important thing is still that our fans have liked our performances very
much. And the media has now started to bluster at us for not being so
provocative any longer. Earlier these same publications grumbled over
Rammstein being to provocative.... You can never please some people
and that is good!
Kaista:Your early show would be hard
to put on nowadays in these circumstances... Richard:Exactly!
We did some really crazy things sometimes. On the first concerts there
weren't that much people of course, but we wanted to get them to move.
So we run into the audience, threw some gasoline on the floor and put
it on fire... it's really true! It was of course dangerous and early
in our career a small accident also happened. We put gasoline on the
stage as well and some of the stuff splashed by accident on the people
in front row. A few people then got some minor burns. We were really
worried and went with them to the doctor, but fortunately they managed
without serious injuries.
You can't predict fire and you should not play with it. The whole thing
can really get out of your control unbelievably fast. In contradiction
to the flames we wanted to bring water onto the stage at the Mutter
tour, but the designers got some sense into us. Water and electricity
are in fact a dangerous combination.
Kaista:The huge success Rammstein has experienced as well in their home country as in other countries has risen a real people's movement in their home country Germany. People either hate them by all their heart or love them as much. Richard:The situation now is actually perfect. But I'm astonished that many of our fellow Germans don't want us to succeed outside Germany. The thing became especially clear when Rammstein was nominated for a Grammy in the US. People started talking that we should not even agree to the nomination. Why on earth? I don't understand... What harm can such a thing have? It's just an advantage for us and other German groups.
Kaista:A taxi driver I talked to was thinking that some people hate you because of your outspoken lyrics. Richard:I wouldn't put it exactly like that either... The lyrics our singer Till Lindemann writes are really very complicated and they shouldn't be taken literally. We are no politicians that should say things as clearly as possible. Our lyrics should be read by using your fantasy. The translations of Rammstein lyrics you find online of course gives some kind of picture of our thing, but nobody can make completely perfect translations.
Kaista:It is of course clear that not everybody can like for example 'Ich Will' whose lyrics are aimed at people that are easily lead by advertisements. Lindemann, who originates from East Germany, gets really irritated with people that accept "any shit that is visible [things that are advertised]". 'Links 2 3 4' on the other hand is Rammstein's standpoint against the accusations that they are right wing. The whole thing hasn't been made to easy, because right at the beginning you hear the sound of marching soldiers... Richard:'Links' is explicitly made for the Germans, which means that studying the lyrics is extremely important. We have, as you know, been accused for being Nazis and right-wingers, because of for example 'Du Hast,' so we made 'Links' to clear things out (excerpt from the lyrics: "They want my heart on the right spot, but then I look below, it beats left there, left two three four left [in English in the article]). We are definitely a lot more to the left than to the right."
Part II
Kaista met the guitarist of Rammstein Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein in Germany a while ago. And here we have the second part of the interview.
Kaista:Rammstein that operates in
the field between Laibach and Clawfinger have recently been accused of
copying "almost anybody." The singer of the dissolved band Die Krupps
Jurgen Engler got upset because of 'Tier', 'Mutter' has been accused
to be loan from Metallica's 'Unforgiven' and in 'Mein Herz Brennt' has
Led Zeppelin been heard.... Just to mention a few. Richard:I
think that Rammstein have a sound completely of their own these days.
We fell yet in love with the computers while we made Sehnsucht, but that
phase didn't last for long. Working with machines started bothering us
enormously and we decided that we wouldn't become their slaves. And Mutter
is a different kind of album, it sounds noticeable more natural and spacious.
Our big sound is of course created by using several tracks over each
other. On Mutter we doubled the guitars in some parts 24 times. Live
it is then more difficult. I play the same things as our other guitarist
(Paul Landers) all the time and that leads to troubles some times....
(laughs). Luckily we now play in big halls, whose volume make the sound
really massive.
Kaista:Rammstein has on many occasions told about the painfulness of the Mutter recordings. Are you already scared just thinking about making the next studio album? Richard:As a fact, no. I, on the other hand, feel really comfortable when it comes to the future of the band. Maybe we'll make the fourth studio album within a year, who knows? The long time between Sehnsucht and Mutter was a roller coaster ride.... To avoid bad moments we have to do the next album faster (laughs).
Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein, Rammstein. Top 3 albums right now [spring/summer
2001]
1. Ministry. Psalm 69
2. Dido: No Angel
3. Black Mail: 1