A Scandal Called Rammstein

Patricia has successfuly translated the bellow article (Un escándalo llamado Rammstein) – many thanks.

Metallica’s show remains in its infancy next to the adrenaline rush that means a Rammstein concert, considered the most famous industrial metal band in the world.

Rammstein as a group has existed since 1994 but its members singer Till Lindemann, the guitarist Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider drummer and keyboardist Christian Lorenz were forged as musicians, separately and with no cultural connection with foreign countries for years and years of sleeping by day and live in the night playing and singing themes of industrial metal and punk in the basement of the old and dilapidated houses demolished in East Berlin, where the girl germana of eighties drunk wanting to go out and breathe the air of freedom that they meant life in the West, when the world was still divided in two by the existence of the Berlin Wall.

Of the 6 musicians, Richard Kruspe was the only one not resigned himself to expect things to change for themselves and months before the Wall fell in 1989 managed to escape from the German Democratic Republic GDR across the border from Hungary to Austria and made it to West Berlin where he soon saw the iron curtain unrolled in turn uncovered the remaining five metalheads with whom he founded the band, which they named Rammstein to mock, literally, tragedy military occurred in the U.S. military base of the same name in southern Germany in 1988, when musicians were still locked in the GDR.

But the scandal that led to mock a tragedy which caused 35 dead and maimed hundreds of pales in comparison with mood disturbance experienced by the establishment whenever Rammstein Germany launches a new album.

In October, for example, the then Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, has banned the sale and breeding of the new album ‘Liebe ist für alle da’ ( ‘There is love for all’) for a song ‘Ich tue dir weh’ ( ‘I’m hurting’) which, officials say, makes an explicit apology for carnal violence and sadomasochism.

Rammstein reacted with a series of interviews in which its members ads from loud laughter and also thanked the minister for the unexpected and effective publicity of its production, from this month until the time is at the top of sales in Europe and with that Rammstein is currently conducting a world tour that will take them to the U.S. in September and Latin America.

About their plans on the tour, her music, provocations and its connection with the Spanish language, lip reading Berlin with Oliver Riedel, bassist and band spokesman.

Fortunately for his supporters in Mexico Rammstein has confirmed he will visit that country again in October but has not confirmed whether he will be the first time in Colombia, where the followers of his music in the thousands.

I still can not confirm but it is possible to go to Colombia shortly. From September we will be in the U.S., Canada and we plan to visit 2 or 3 Latin American countries. We have been in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico as we do not rule this time act on one or 2 of the countries that have not yet visited. We know in any case we have an audience in Colombia and that the country has become a very interesting place for big concerts of rock and metal so that by June we will announce if we will act in Bogota this year.

What influences the decision to act in Colombia?

Ganas not missing, is only a matter of logistics and mood of the group members that we almost all year outside Berlin performing in nearly 60 countries. We do not know if the energy we can to stay away so long.

In any case the concerts in the U.S. are confirmed and how to get there anyway means crossing the Atlantic, definitely if we act in some Hispanic countries. It’s safe.

About the Spanish, the only Rammstein song sung entirely in a language other than German is the scandalous ‘I love you bitch’, he turned to Mexico. Where does the connection to language?

We always include our songs short texts in other languages and ‘Te Quiero Puta “is so far the only song sung entirely in a language other than German, but the reason is less dramatic than you imagine having to do with it Til Lindemann, our singer, speaks very good Spanish, he has learned in Cuba and Costa Rica where he has gone on holiday and he really likes and is interested in the pronunciation of the R in Spanish, in fact imitates in some songs.

Til it best speaks the language but I also speak Spanish a little like Oliver. What happens is that talking or trying to learn to speak Spanish and is not no big deal, the language has become very popular.

I am surprised to hear that. Many people, especially young people, relate Rammstein music with neo-Nazi, even at a concert in Mexico boys reached the concert t-shirts which was painted the swastika, the Nazi symbol banned in Germany and is thought to promote racial exclusion you. right .. How are you?

I’m going to say as clearly as I can. People should, once and for all, learn the difference between being German and being a fascist. We use symbols in our filings Germans, but we have no connection with Nazi or neo-Nazi ideology, we are in right or left, we are not fascists, we reject it, not our story, we do industrial metal music whose lyrics are not Baladitas precisely love, but that does not mean that you do the game any group or extremist tendency of origin.

As for the swastika never have used, do not play with German history, as all Germans know that there are sensitive issues and this is one of them.

But obviously the lyrics and the music and messages of Rammstein are brutal, aggressive.

The lyrics, music, Rammstein messages may seem brutal, aggressive and all that you say if you look at first glance, but when someone is stopped, as does our audience, to listen to the lyrics you realize that in actually everything is done so to a large release of energy and after a burst of musical energy that happens is that both we, the interpreters, as our audience, we were very light, downloaded, quiet music that is not requires little words to express sweet sighs but does so through a series of music downloads and plays on words that really what they contain is much humor, black provocative alternative.

People who do not want to understand this because I do not understand, we are not the issue stays up late.

Obviously in Germany are not included, whenever a new CD out there is a scandal in the media with many reproaches to the band. They like to cause that effect in their own country?

Rammstein music makes his pulse and did not cause artificially or the public or the press to be successful, it would be foolish if not stupid. Nor beg any kind of affection, people who want us and there’s another no. They have their right to love and listen to those they like. If we looked acceptance would be singing all the time Baladitas.

But is it not paradoxical that everybody has Rammstein is positioned as the best metal band in Germany, its country of origin, where they can understand their lyrics to one hundred percent always be so controversial?

Yes it is paradoxical and I’ll tell you why, in our view. It happens that Rammstein is a German band, singing as we behave like Germans and Germany but the Germans still have many problems with that to be German, still embarrassed by it and instead we have no problems with our identity.

Are there still differences in how they behave towards you the public and the press in West Germany and East Germany?

Yes western Germany are more critical and tough on us, find it harder to understand. But do not worry. In 30 years all over Germany surely recognize our music because we do it the hard way, we enjoy it, we live it as an expression of this.

I also want to clarify that we are not is sad that in Germany, unlike many other countries, have difficulty recognizing our music.

Obviously we do not do music to save face with someone, do it because we like and what we like and try to do is art and art controversy suggests, generates debate starts. The worst that could happen is to let the public unmoved, leaving warm, that would be a horror.

I always start their concerts with a pyrotechnic act that puts the hackles of the more courageous.

We all really like the way Till Lindemann goes on stage on fire. At first glance it seems crazy reality of suicide and what it is from a show run by some of the best experts in pyrotechnics that exist in Germany where every detail is controlled to a hundred percent level, with special suits avoiding the danger not only to the side but to the public.

We built a fire in a professional manner to give more life to the downloading of music and we do very well with it. We had great fun.

By Patricia Salazar Figueroa
Berlin

Original article