February 20, 2004
Single name and release date
The March issue of Sonic Seducer is reporting that the new single will be called "Rosenrot" which means Rose Red and that the single will come out in the end of May. This information is unconfirmed by management.Thanks to Henkersbraut for this info
February 11, 2004
Classical Mein Herz Brennt Album
Torsten Rasch's Mein Herz Brennt was released in the US yesterday. Here's
the press release: Heavy Metal Band Rammstein Meets
German Lieder
In Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns)
A searing new song cycle by Torsten Rasch
Featuring the extraordinary bass René Pape
CD available on Deutsche Grammophon February 10
Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents an innovative new recording, inspired
by the intense and provocative songs of the notorious, platinum-selling
German metal band Rammstein and expressed in the form of the classical
song cycle. Bringing together the unique talents of composer Torsten
Rasch, producer Sven Helbig, critically acclaimed bass René Pape, actress
Katharina Thalbach and the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, led by John Carewe,
Mein Herz Brennt presents a fateful combination of words and music reminiscent
of German Romanticism within an explosive external framework -- a song-cycle
for the 21st century.
The work's premiere performances this past November in Dresden and Berlin
were highly acclaimed. "Up to now, no one has been inspired to turn material
by a rock band into a completely new work," said Neues Deutschland, "composer
Torsten Rasch has revealed unimagined depths in Rammstein's texts, with
great seriousness and fantasy ... and creates gripping, great music."
The starting point for producer Sven Helbig and composer Torsten Rasch
were the intense and powerful lyrics of Rammstein's Till Lindemann. Fascinated
by their emotional fragility and spiritualism, Rasch captures the lyrics
with great tenderness, all the while evoking classical composers from
Schubert to Schönberg. Songs such as "Mutter" (Mother), "Herzelied" (Heartache)
and "Sehnsucht" (Longing) are already familiar to millions of Rammstein
fans worldwide.
Composer Torsten Rasch (b. 1965) was a member of the Dresden Kreuz Choir
from 1974-1982 and studied composition and piano at the Carl-Maria von
Weber Academy of Music before emigrating to Japan in 1990, where he worked
in film and television. In 1998 he received the first composition commission
of the Dresden Symphonic for the soundtrack to "Völuspa." The Dresden
Symphonic, founded five years ago, is uniquely dedicated exclusively
to contemporary music.
The German bass René Pape is one of the most exciting opera singers on
the scene today, widely acclaimed for the breathtaking power of his voice
and his magnetic stage presence. Pape's performances of the great Wagner
roles at the Metropolitan Opera and elsewhere have led critics to call
him one of the greatest Wagner singers of all time. On March 1 he will
perform his first Mozart role at the Met, when he stars as Leporello
in the new production of Don Giovanni.
Katharina Thalbach is one of the most versatile German actresses on stage
and screen. She achieved international recognition for her roles in "The
Tin Drum" and "Sophie's Choice. More info about the CD can be
found in the releases section, under covers.
January 22, 2004
Phone conversation with Emu
It appears that the new album will come out in August, preceded by a
single in May. After the album is released, there will be a tour of Europe.
This information came from a phone call between a winner of a contest
in the Official Fan Area, Marjolein, and Emanuel Fialik, one of Rammstein's
managers. Here is the conversation: Thursdaymorning,
11.30 hours: rrrrrrring rrrrrring
Me: Marjolein speaking
Men's voice: Is this Marjolein Hensen?
Me: Yes, that's right.
Men: Hello, this is Emanuel Fialik, Rammstein-management.
Me: *astonished* Oh, good morning.
E: Yeah, it's still morning, we're in the same timezone I guess. I'm
sorry I didn't call you on Monday, but things were quite hectic here,
too much work, I couldn't make it.
M: Well, that's okay. You're calling me now and I'm home. (just out of
the shower and one eye with make-up, but who cares?
E: Uuuuh, and now? You're the first person I'm calling, so I'm not used
to it yet. I'm sorry if things go a litte bit akward from here.
M: No problem, you don't think I get a call from the Rammstein-management
every day, do you? I'm not used to it, either, so don't worry.
E: *lol* Oh, it's okay then. You've won and I've got a list with presents.
This week you can choose from: 1. Bourgondy-red bike-shirt (?), size
L. 2. Sehnsucht mans t-shirt with Richy, size XL. 3. Plastic bag with
keychain and R+-earplugs, hahaha.
M: Haha, I think the earplugs are very funny. Could you please say 'du'
to me? All the 'sie' (german way of being polite, that's 'sie', also:
you but in a very polite way) makes me incredibly nervous.
E: Oh, but I call everybody but my mother 'sie'.
M: Here in Holland we call everybody 'du', apart from our queen. So please?..
E: *lol* Okay, I will try, when I'm talking to you, I'll think of my
mother, maybe that helps?
M: Hey, I'm not that old, haha, how old are you?
E: 40.
M: Haha, than I'm younger, only 39.
E: I'll turn 40 this year.
M: Me too.
Than he tried to explain to me how the t-shirts looked and what size
they were, etc. He really tried his best, but I only understood half
of it. In short: I took the bike-shirt. I thought it was very funny though,
to try to get a man explain about t-shirts and stuff. I told/asked him
that he knew the way woman were build and he agreed to that, he told
me 'yes', but he wasn't that clear at all, he was very funny.
So we continued:
M: May I ask you something?
E: Yeees, you may ask me anything: that's why I'm calling you.
M: Okay, In the german forum there's a rumour that the new album will
be out end of august, is that true?
E: Yes. The new album will probably (also probably, someone could break
a leg or something like that) come in the end of august. Everything has
been planned, when it all runs smoothly it will be end of august, begin
of september. And than comes a tour.
M: *fell dead as a horse from her sofa but manages to speak* WOOOOAAAH!!!
TOUR!!! I'm soooo happy. And 1200-and-something people from the fanaera
also!!! Awesome, I could dance! Wow! And where will they play: Germany,
Holland?
E: They will tour in Europe, that's the best way to describe it. But
probably (probably people, is also not for sure) just once in every country,
maybe twice in Germany, we will start the tour in the fall so that we're
finished before christmas. We will definately play in Holland, but we'll
have to wait and see how the new single in May is sold. So that we will
know where we're gonna play.
M: *just recovered from being a corpse but dead again* AAAAAHHH! New
single in May????!!! *happy* And no tour in America? I think the Americans
will be really dissapointed.
E: It is always difficult to go on tour in America, for us, that is.
There's so much work to be done before we even get there, and we've planned
a short tour.
M: I see, I get it. With touring in America you're 6 months on the way
just to get there.
E; That's right.
M: Can I criticize some things?
E: Yeah, I'm starting to sweat allready.
M: *lol* No, it's not that bad. I just want to say that it's about time
that something is happening here, there were times here that we all thought
that we all didn't mean shit to you or the Rammstein-members. I'm here
since august 2002 but nothing happened here. When I pay 36 euros I expect
to get something (special) in return. Not a logbook from the middleages
and not a Rammsteinmember within miles to see of hear from. I'm sorry
but a lot of fans felt this way. I just wanted to mention it.
E: Yeah, I know. But it's always difficult for us because when nothing
happens, nothing happens, you see? We're not a kind of pop-band who makes
headlines about something minor happening on the street. When there's
nothing to report, we report nothing. .
M: Yeah, I see, but I hope you can imagine that we felt a little lost
here.
E: Hey, mother (I: huh? He: so that I call you 'du', haha) I must say
you're right. But from now on we are going to do things differently.
That's why we are calling our fans, so that we have a direct line tot
hem and know how they feel about certain things.
M: This conversation is a good start. And I personally think that your
internetsite doesn't have to be 'perfect'. As long as you try we sense
it that you're getting there and try hard, we're completely satisfied.
Keep up the good work, I would say. (I said 'sie' to him)
E; Hey, I'm not the queen!
M: Ooops, sorry.
Than we had a conversation about recordcompanies, texts, press and all
that kind of stuff. That was funny and very interesting. He told me a
lot and gave me as it were a kind of 'backstage' look, so that I knew
a bit more about how certain things were done. I told him something about
the Dutch press and how the Dutch people think about Rammstein and Emu
found that really helpful. So information in two ways.
We got on:
M: Can I pleeeease ask a last question? (We were about 40 minutes on
the phone allready and the poor man had still a lot of work to do)
E: Okay, the last one.
M; Did you hear songs from the new album yet?
E: Yeah, a few 'raw' recordings, there were just guitars, drums and singing
on them, that's all. They weren't even mixed yet.
M: And and and??? Did you like them? How would you describe them?
E: Mwwwwah, that's very difficult. I would say: That's Rammstein as we
know them, but new things have been added, things one doesn't expect
from Rammstein. There are 2 songs who are completely and utterly different,
and I liked them the best. It is like being in a relationship: preserve
the old and good things that you love and renew other aspects so that
it keeps interesting.
M; *melted down* Oooooh, that's a beautiful way of describing it. You're
completely right, I can't wait to hear it! Thanks a lot for calling me!
E: It was my pleasure and I had fun. Of course, something could
happen so that these dates could change, but it looks like we most likely
will see some new Rammstein material this year!Thanks
to Marjolein for the conversation transcript.
New Additions to site
Added two fan fictions to the fanarea, one by Sarah Barra and one by
Angel Persephone-Daemia.
Added a press article, Marginal music for the masses, in Finnish with
an English translation.Thanks to Tierushka for the
article and translation.
Added an interview of Richard from Guitar Player to the press section.
Added a page to the releases section for Amundsen, Der Penguin, a children's
movie that Till acted in.
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