2014
Seven million records sold worldwide, platinum awards in 68 countries and a concert in front of 500,000 people at the Eiffel Tower. TV stars and favourites of the tabloid press. Superstars in the truest sense of the word. A band so large that each of their steps was accompanied by an army of photographers.
Bill and Tom Kaulitz have all exchanged for the anonymity of Los Angeles, a city where you are not immediately recognized on the street. A metropolis where the paparazzi have other priorities. Ideal conditions to bring their band new life..
“When we arrived in the United States, I could no longer hear the name Tokio Hotel. I was so sick of everything”, says Bill. “We had to find out what we really wanted from life. We first had to hire back, free up our heads and risk a radical new beginning for the music and our career.”
“I was not even sure if I really wanted it.” Tom replies. “The high price we had to pay for our success, the whole madness, this is not how I had imagined my life. But in Los Angeles we have rediscovered what really matters – our love of music.”
From this results Kings of suburbia , the new album from the band. Influenced by a year of intensive redefinition, endless escapades in the Los Angeles’ club scene shows this album the whole spectrum of the new life of the brothers, the wild nights, the hungover mornings ; Carefree and uncompromising.
From songs such as “Feel it all” and “Girl Got a Gun”, bringing that night club atmosphere , to the softer, more introspective sounds of “Run Run Run” (first preliminary track) and “Love who Loves You Back “, you can experience the Kaulitz twins at the limits of reason and sobriety. Their realization that it is possible to reflect their new life in their songs. A soundtrack to all nights that never end.
Kings of suburbia is full of authenticity, because they are living what their songs talk about.
“The producers loved it when I came directly from the clubs to the recording studio to record my vocals.” Bill laughs. “So many songs were created. We have directly captured these moments.”
“For this album a lot of cigarettes, drinks and nights were used.” Tom added with a smile, “We have not missed a single Sunrise during the recording sessions.”
Kings of suburbia is a defiant and uncompromising statement by Tokio Hotel . Although they worked again with an eclectic selection of producers, including familiar companions like Jost, rock mafia and Guy Chambers. In addition, there are unmistakable influences of the hippest DJs from the hottest clubs of Los Angeles. But for the first time in their career, the Kaulitz brothers really worked in the Studio as producers. Tom felt quite comfortable in his new role as a leader and showed his skills this time not only on guitar, but also on piano, drums, and synthesizers.
“On most of the songs, my guitar is merely a tool. I see myself more as an all-rounder person and producer for the band and not just as a guitarist. We have worked all together to make the perfect album. Every sound on this album is exactly as we wanted it. We have produced it all.”
Band members Georg Listing (bass) and Gustav Schäfer (drums) were as always part of the Madness, of course. Live instruments with electronic beats were combined to create an album that is different of anything you have heard of Tokio hotel so far. With Kings of suburbia, they have rediscovered their lust for life – and therefore their lust for music -. Far away from the spotlight, far away from all the positive and negative aspects of Fame, they could plunge into a world of simple pleasures (and sometimes reckless) to rediscover themselves, creating thereby a new world for themselves.
“It feels as if we could really enjoy life for the first time, here. At 15, we were done with school and started out with the band and had from that moment on no more privacy. We were chased by our own success and have somehow always been trying to escape the whole thing. We just wanted something like a normal life.”
Tom added: “at some point you just want to be able to do very simple things. And here I could go ride my bike, go to the supermarket.. That made me damn happy.”
Tokio Hotel are not naive. The laws of the music industry say that you can not disappear for more than five months – leave everything for five years – and then expect that everything is as before. But the guys were brave enough to put this theory to the test. They have already conquered the world and are ready to do it again. But this time on their terms.
“It is clearly a risk.” Bill says. ““But with this album everything is exactly as we imagined and it is the first time that we can really say that honestly. We have done as it suited us. No one has written us songs that we need to “sell”. The album is 100% Tokio Hotel. Being able to say that feels so good!”
TOKIO HOTEL CANADA 