FairyWings
October 5th, 2009, 10:13 PM
This was posted in the Italian forum last Saturday and since apparently this didn't reach any English speaking fan sites that I knew of I couldn't find a transcript of it anywhere, so I had to use google translator.
abandoned CT, did we? lol
I’m Martin from Cherrytree Records and www.cherrytreeradio.com. Today I have the privilege of being in the studio with Bill and Tom from Tokio Hotel to talk with them about some of the songs from the new album Humanoid. This is a great opportunity, thanks! Let’s start.
Why did you choose "Noise" as the opening track for your album? What special quality must an opening track have for you and when, in the process of recording Humanoid, did you decide to start with "Noise"?
Bill: The opening track of an album must be very energetic. Once you have recorded all the songs and you're deciding what to include in the playlist of the album, in a certain way you already know which must be the first. From the very beginning we thought that "Noise" had a great energy and the perfect message to open the album.
I think your song "Darkside of the Sun" is a great example of how your sound has developed and evolved, but at the same time retaining the essence of what made Tokio Hotel great. Do you ever wonder how the fans are going to react to a song when you’re in the studio writing it?
Bill: When we write songs we focus only on our feelings and we go by intuition. You can never be sure that in the end the fans will like a track, but that's what makes it so exciting. In the process of writing we completely forget the thoughts of the people and the fact that our music will be liked or not, but in fact we care only about these things when we approach the release date. We become very nervous and start to worry about many things. "Darkside of the Sun" is a song that motivates you a lot and every time we hear it it reminds us of when we're on tour, it gives us the spirit to climb back on stage and perform.
I know that you were undecided about which songs to include in the album, but it seems there has never been a doubt in choosing the first single "Automatic". Why?
Bill: "Automatic" was one of the last songs we wrote for the album, but it was exactly the track that we lacked. One day we realized how everyone uses every day the word "automatic" and is from there that we had the idea for the song. It’s crazy how many times you use this word every day and there are many things that work automatically. Many of these are also very good because ... you know what is in no way automatic? Love is certainly not automatic. We started working on the song in the studio and everything went well, it was easy and it didn’t take a long time to finish it.
After recording it we knew that this would be our first single.
Tom: Yes
Your previous recordings include some heavier tracks and, above all, ballads. We think that in this album you can hear the ballads - for example "World Behind My Wall" - are lighter, but remain in effect. Was it something planned from the beginning of the production of Humanoid?
Tom: You know, every album and every song is a part of us. All albums have a soft side and I think that "Humanoid" is one of the strongest tracks to date. I mean we have not programmed it before, it came out like that. "World Behind My Wall" is a song that describes a very intimate part of our lives.
What do you say about the song "Humanoid"? What came first: the title of the album or song?
Bill: The album title came first, but soon after we also had the song. Humanoid is a feeling that has always accompanied us throughout our lives, including the production of this album. In fact it's true: I would say that "Humanoid" is a song that was the underlying theme in our album. There’s so much music and emotions and in the beginning it may seem confusing and have no apparent meaning, but this is what "Humanoid" means for us. For this track we got rid of the normal structure of the songs. This song is like a journey into another universe.
"Forever Now" is a song that captures and hypnotizes. Were you influenced by something internal, external, etc.. in the recording of this song?
Tom: Yes, being in the studio means having many ups and downs. We have great fun together, but sometimes we do not take care of ourselves as we usually do when we’re on tour. Sometimes we happen to stay up all night to record. Being in the studio for us means having the time to create, to let things go how they go. We spend time together when we are down in the morale, we have fun like crazy or we simply get in fights: that’s where the ideas come from.
Listening to your previous albums, it seem like they have a limited use of keyboards as an added effect. In your second album you've barely used the keyboards, while for Humanoid you seem to have purposely emphasized the use of keyboards. Who did this and who plays the keyboard better?
Bill: Our goal for this album was to start over and try new things. It's been a long time since our last album and we wanted to first listen to our conscience to see what music we wanted to do in the future. For this album we used all the techniques and the musical opportunities that we managed to keep on hand. I mean, why should we have to use only drums-guitar-bass? "Pain of Love" is one of the first songs we recorded. I think this is why we have an infinite number of versions for this song.
"Dogs Unleashed" is basically a good kick in the rear for the antis! Are you always aware of the impact your music has?
Bill: Ehh. Most of the time we don’t pay attention, but now that you point out to me, yes, it is definitely nice. Putting all our experiences and our emotions in the songs and telling people our truth is a wonderful thing - especially since you can pass a message without having to do an interview. The experiences of recent weeks have been pretty heavy. We've added some of our experiences in our songs.
This is a question which I am sure many of your fans wanted you to answer, Tom. Let's say you're in love with a girl, would you write a love song for her and publish it so she can listen to it?
Tom: Uh, yes. I'm not the guy who does these things ... Let us not deceive ourselves: should I ever fall in love and write lyrics as beautiful as those of Bill, I would have no problem publishing it. But I believe I have to leave the romantic side of it to my brother.
In your new track "Human connect to Human", I wonder how important it is for you to have a partner.
Bill: I believe that love and partnership are the things in which everyone's life focuses. It’s something that we automatically look for every day. Everyone seeks their true soul mate and this is what the song talks about. I think if there's nobody in your life who loves you, you're lost. Love keeps us alive. Human beings need other human beings - and even the dogs, of course.
"Alien" was the track that we heard on the DVD Caught On Camera? How have you created that song?
Tom: Exactly! That was our first song, the one that laid the foundation of the entire album. We also have many different versions of this track and, you know, in the end it was really really hard for us to pick one. To be honest I cannot wait to see Gustav dance this song in a club. [They laugh]
Is it hard to translate words like "Phantomrider" in German or vice versa? Are you satisfied with the English and German versions of this album?
Bill: It was one of our greatest difficulties. We noticed that a literal translation didn’t always work. I think we must look at two versions as two different songs, one is in German and one is in English. The message of the two songs is more or less the same, but we could not translate literally. We did not want either version to be weaker than the other, so we decided to change a bit the text.
Tom, there are recordings where we can see you playing "Zoom" in the studio in LA. Can we expect to see a piano on stage in the upcoming tour?
Tom: Um ... Yes, I know it would be great, but it’s not sure yet. I must also admit that I’m not that good when it comes to playing the piano and I would not want to ruin the songs.
Bill: I can tell you he is doing a magnificent job.
Who has spoken with Bill and Tom of Tokio Hotel is Martin of Cherrytree Records and www.cherrytreeradio.com. Thank you guys. Congratulations on Humanoid. Tokio Hotel rules!
source:http://forum.universalmusic.it/forum/f104-tokio-hotel/intervista-bill-e-tom-sulle-canzoni-dellalbum-da-i-tunes-65753.html
abandoned CT, did we? lol
I’m Martin from Cherrytree Records and www.cherrytreeradio.com. Today I have the privilege of being in the studio with Bill and Tom from Tokio Hotel to talk with them about some of the songs from the new album Humanoid. This is a great opportunity, thanks! Let’s start.
Why did you choose "Noise" as the opening track for your album? What special quality must an opening track have for you and when, in the process of recording Humanoid, did you decide to start with "Noise"?
Bill: The opening track of an album must be very energetic. Once you have recorded all the songs and you're deciding what to include in the playlist of the album, in a certain way you already know which must be the first. From the very beginning we thought that "Noise" had a great energy and the perfect message to open the album.
I think your song "Darkside of the Sun" is a great example of how your sound has developed and evolved, but at the same time retaining the essence of what made Tokio Hotel great. Do you ever wonder how the fans are going to react to a song when you’re in the studio writing it?
Bill: When we write songs we focus only on our feelings and we go by intuition. You can never be sure that in the end the fans will like a track, but that's what makes it so exciting. In the process of writing we completely forget the thoughts of the people and the fact that our music will be liked or not, but in fact we care only about these things when we approach the release date. We become very nervous and start to worry about many things. "Darkside of the Sun" is a song that motivates you a lot and every time we hear it it reminds us of when we're on tour, it gives us the spirit to climb back on stage and perform.
I know that you were undecided about which songs to include in the album, but it seems there has never been a doubt in choosing the first single "Automatic". Why?
Bill: "Automatic" was one of the last songs we wrote for the album, but it was exactly the track that we lacked. One day we realized how everyone uses every day the word "automatic" and is from there that we had the idea for the song. It’s crazy how many times you use this word every day and there are many things that work automatically. Many of these are also very good because ... you know what is in no way automatic? Love is certainly not automatic. We started working on the song in the studio and everything went well, it was easy and it didn’t take a long time to finish it.
After recording it we knew that this would be our first single.
Tom: Yes
Your previous recordings include some heavier tracks and, above all, ballads. We think that in this album you can hear the ballads - for example "World Behind My Wall" - are lighter, but remain in effect. Was it something planned from the beginning of the production of Humanoid?
Tom: You know, every album and every song is a part of us. All albums have a soft side and I think that "Humanoid" is one of the strongest tracks to date. I mean we have not programmed it before, it came out like that. "World Behind My Wall" is a song that describes a very intimate part of our lives.
What do you say about the song "Humanoid"? What came first: the title of the album or song?
Bill: The album title came first, but soon after we also had the song. Humanoid is a feeling that has always accompanied us throughout our lives, including the production of this album. In fact it's true: I would say that "Humanoid" is a song that was the underlying theme in our album. There’s so much music and emotions and in the beginning it may seem confusing and have no apparent meaning, but this is what "Humanoid" means for us. For this track we got rid of the normal structure of the songs. This song is like a journey into another universe.
"Forever Now" is a song that captures and hypnotizes. Were you influenced by something internal, external, etc.. in the recording of this song?
Tom: Yes, being in the studio means having many ups and downs. We have great fun together, but sometimes we do not take care of ourselves as we usually do when we’re on tour. Sometimes we happen to stay up all night to record. Being in the studio for us means having the time to create, to let things go how they go. We spend time together when we are down in the morale, we have fun like crazy or we simply get in fights: that’s where the ideas come from.
Listening to your previous albums, it seem like they have a limited use of keyboards as an added effect. In your second album you've barely used the keyboards, while for Humanoid you seem to have purposely emphasized the use of keyboards. Who did this and who plays the keyboard better?
Bill: Our goal for this album was to start over and try new things. It's been a long time since our last album and we wanted to first listen to our conscience to see what music we wanted to do in the future. For this album we used all the techniques and the musical opportunities that we managed to keep on hand. I mean, why should we have to use only drums-guitar-bass? "Pain of Love" is one of the first songs we recorded. I think this is why we have an infinite number of versions for this song.
"Dogs Unleashed" is basically a good kick in the rear for the antis! Are you always aware of the impact your music has?
Bill: Ehh. Most of the time we don’t pay attention, but now that you point out to me, yes, it is definitely nice. Putting all our experiences and our emotions in the songs and telling people our truth is a wonderful thing - especially since you can pass a message without having to do an interview. The experiences of recent weeks have been pretty heavy. We've added some of our experiences in our songs.
This is a question which I am sure many of your fans wanted you to answer, Tom. Let's say you're in love with a girl, would you write a love song for her and publish it so she can listen to it?
Tom: Uh, yes. I'm not the guy who does these things ... Let us not deceive ourselves: should I ever fall in love and write lyrics as beautiful as those of Bill, I would have no problem publishing it. But I believe I have to leave the romantic side of it to my brother.
In your new track "Human connect to Human", I wonder how important it is for you to have a partner.
Bill: I believe that love and partnership are the things in which everyone's life focuses. It’s something that we automatically look for every day. Everyone seeks their true soul mate and this is what the song talks about. I think if there's nobody in your life who loves you, you're lost. Love keeps us alive. Human beings need other human beings - and even the dogs, of course.
"Alien" was the track that we heard on the DVD Caught On Camera? How have you created that song?
Tom: Exactly! That was our first song, the one that laid the foundation of the entire album. We also have many different versions of this track and, you know, in the end it was really really hard for us to pick one. To be honest I cannot wait to see Gustav dance this song in a club. [They laugh]
Is it hard to translate words like "Phantomrider" in German or vice versa? Are you satisfied with the English and German versions of this album?
Bill: It was one of our greatest difficulties. We noticed that a literal translation didn’t always work. I think we must look at two versions as two different songs, one is in German and one is in English. The message of the two songs is more or less the same, but we could not translate literally. We did not want either version to be weaker than the other, so we decided to change a bit the text.
Tom, there are recordings where we can see you playing "Zoom" in the studio in LA. Can we expect to see a piano on stage in the upcoming tour?
Tom: Um ... Yes, I know it would be great, but it’s not sure yet. I must also admit that I’m not that good when it comes to playing the piano and I would not want to ruin the songs.
Bill: I can tell you he is doing a magnificent job.
Who has spoken with Bill and Tom of Tokio Hotel is Martin of Cherrytree Records and www.cherrytreeradio.com. Thank you guys. Congratulations on Humanoid. Tokio Hotel rules!
source:http://forum.universalmusic.it/forum/f104-tokio-hotel/intervista-bill-e-tom-sulle-canzoni-dellalbum-da-i-tunes-65753.html