Tokio Hotel Frontman Bill Kaulitz on Working with His Twin Brother and Going Electronic on ‘Kings of Suburbia’

Stephanie Hernandez

Tokio Hotel are not a band to stand still. Forming back in 2001, the group has consistently kept their records fresh, incorporating new sounds and genres into each one of their records. Releasing their last album “Humanoid” in 2009, the group decided it was time to step out of the limelight, refocus and make music they loved by their own rules. After some much deserved time off, late nights that turned into mornings on the strip and some experimenting in the studio, Tokio Hotel finally ended their five-year hiatus when they released “Kings of Suburbia” late last fall.  In the midst of planning the remainder of their US tour, frontman Bill Kaulitz took the time to talk to Entertainment Voice about the inspiration behind the group’s new record, why his brother is an amazing partner, and what fans can look forward to this year.

Your last album “Humanoid” was released in 2009, after an almost five-year break what made this the right time to release “Kings of Suburbia”?

I think we were just comfortable and confident with the music. We didn’t set any deadlines, so after “Humanoid” we were just taking time off and didn’t know when we were going to release a new album. We told our record company, “Listen guys, we are going to call you up if we have something, don’t bother us, and pressure us for an album.” And they were nice enough to just let us do whatever! So Tom and I built our home studio, we started writing songs and producing everything ourselves. That was the first time we had ever produced an album too, so that’s also part of the reason it took much longer, it takes time to do it yourself. After a while, we were just putting our favorite tracks together for the album and we finally felt it was good enough to go public. We just wanted to make an album that would feel good to us and we made it to the point where we felt that we had created a record that was the best we could have done.

During the writing process for this record, members of the group lived apart in both Europe and the United States, was it difficult putting together an album when you were all so far apart? How did the distance affect the band’s songwriting process?

Well you know, Tom and I did most of the songwriting and it has always sort of been like that, the other two guys are not so much into that (laughs). But, we always come together to arrange the songs, I think it was actually easier making this album because it was so electronic, so much programming, that Tom was able to do all the pre-production himself without having to have all of us in the studio.  We were constantly in contact, we added live instruments of course, Tom and I flew to Germany to record with the full band for a couple of weeks, adding live drums and live bass to the pre-production. Then for the tour, we went in and arranged the whole album to make it work live. That was probably the biggest challenge, even harder than actually producing the album, was how are we going bring it alive on stage? Because, we only have three instruments and the album is full of you know, crazy stuff! It was a challenge but it worked out, everyone stepped out of their comfort zone and try new things, it’s been a lot of fun.

The sound on this record is much more electronic than anything you’ve put out before. What caused this shift in your style and how did it feel trying something new?

I think after “Humanoid” we were just kind of bored and we were ready to take time off and get inspired by new experiences. Because every time we went into the studio we didn’t have time to just be creative. Everything was so scheduled; you only have a couple of days to write something and it kept turning out to always be the same. We wanted to make album that was nothing like the album before. Also, we’ve gotten older. Our tastes have changed. When we put out our first album we were kids, I was 13 when we recorded our first record. Tom and I got into electronic music so much more, and when we moved to L.A., we were inspired by the nightlife. We partied a lot, so it’s definitely inspired by nightlife, clubs, DJs! Then Tom just went in the studio and he would rather play a synthesizer or program some crazy beat than taking out his guitar. It’s just kind of happened like that.

Being such a new sound for you, had you and Tom already played around with synthesizers and electronic tools before this point, or did you start from scratch for this album?

We kind of started back on “Humanoid” a little bit and I think it’s helped us grow as musicians a lot. We learned so much, it was a totally new experience for us but it has been fun. Tom is so much into trying new things, he just ordered a new thing, like a space drum, I don’t know, typical him (laughs)! I’m the opposite; I have no patience to learn anything. He loves to figure out stuff and get into it and that’s really how the sound for “Kings of Suburbia” came from.

Creatively what is it like working with your brother Tom? What is it like working with the same friends after fifteen years? Has your approach to making music changed over the course of you being a band?

What’s funny is that every time we are all together, the four of us, it’s almost like we are thirteen again (laughs). I feel like our team and the people we work with always hope, you know, five years have passed, they grew up a little bit and then they’re like fuck this, they’re the same! We have that energy in the band, it just stays like that. Even when we don’t see each other for a couple of months, it’s like nothing ever happened. We group up together all of us are like brothers.

With Tom, I can’t imagine not working with him! We are so comfortable in the studio together; we just understand each other so well. When I am in the studio with a producer or someone else, I feel like I have to explain myself constantly. Try and get them in my head and try and get my ideas out and with Tom, it is almost like silence the entire time. We know exactly how we want something to sound. Every time he plays me a demo, I know exactly what he’s going for, it’s a brother thing, I mean we are identical twins! We understand each other like no one else.

That’s great that you two get along, most people wouldn’t be able to work with their sibling for fear of a murder charge down the road.

(laughs) I know! But we spend every second together, for us it is weird when we do something apart. Right now Tom is in Germany, because he had to prepare something for the tour and I stayed in L.A. – so it has been super weird, it has been one of the only times we have not been together. We are so used to it; we can’t even imagine what it would be like to not be this way.

After almost 15 years together Tokio Hotel have accomplished so much, is there anything left on your musical bucket list?

We still want to go to Australia, that would be fun! We still have not been. Other than that, we are so happy about where we are right now because we feel like we don’t have to prove anything anymore. It has just become about having fun with our music and our songs, enjoying all of that. We are going to tour the entire year, about 50 shows coming up, it’s a tough schedule but we are ready. I think you always want to make the next album even better, you always want to have ideas for a better music video, there are always things you want to do that keep you going. And you now, there’s always Australia.

You’ve just started your “Feel It All World Tour 2015” and are bringing the show to the states, what can fans who maybe have not had an opportunity to see you expect from your live performances?

The US shows are basically going to be the same setup as the European sets. I’m excited that we were able to bring that level of production over here to the US. Because what we did was played small clubs, we wanted to put on a production that had never been seen in venues like that. Usually, you know, bands bring their amps and their instruments and they just play, but we wanted to bring an area style production into a small set. We’re bringing beautiful lights and costumes with us to turn these venues into nightclubs.   We are just so excited to bring our European set up here to show US fans what this album is really all about. Plus, we haven’t played here in such a long time; we can’t wait to see our US friends again!

Catch Tokio Hotel on their “Feel It All” world tour now.