griff: Hi I'm griff from the website, watkykjy.co.za and it seems that I have 15 minutes to talk to you, so lets start. This is Rammstein's first time performing in South Africa. Richard Kruspe: Allright, I'm Richard, pleased to meet you. First time, ja.
griff: First time ever. Why did it take you so long to come here? Have you been here before on holidays?
Richard Kruspe: Well, I was actually married to a South African.
griff: Ja, I'm aware of that.
Richard Kruspe: I've been here a couple of times a couple of years ago – Johannesburg, Cape Town mostly. So, on Holidays, Christmas actually. And the reason that I took so long is because sometimes things have to make sense in each direction which means our show is quite expensive and we don't mind to go and play if we don't make anything. That's allright, but if you have to pay on top for that, then you know, it becomes an issue. I don't think think anyone likes that.
griff: Ja, haha, I don't think so.
Richard Kruspe: So you know, that's why it it took so long to get the right offer. We still don't make anything right now, because it is an investment for us. It is a very interesting market right now here for us. So that's why we're here and developing a new market.
griff: Well, welcome to South Africa. It's a great pleasure and an honour to have you guys here.
Richard Kruspe: Thank you.
griff: If I've got my numbers right, you guys have sold over 15 million records worldwide? You could probably update me on that?
Richard Kruspe: Could be, could be… I stopped counting a couple of years ago. It doesn't really matter anymore.
griff: Leading off from that question, what do you guys spend your money on or is money not such an issue to you?
Richard Kruspe: Oh yeah, you know, I mean when you get older, first you have a couple of kids. Hahaha!
griff: Ja, that can be expensive.
Richard Kruspe: It needs some kind of money, right? I'm basically spending most money in studios and you know, also sometimes when someone comes along (points finger) "You have to think about your future. You should invest in this and you should invest in that shit." In the beginning no-one really knows what we had to do and what do we spend it on and you know, we're buying stupid stuff and we lost a lot of money. So I like, bought some buildings in Berlin because I believe in the real estate market in Berlin for example. After a while I got really frustrated because I didn't know anything about financial things, so I invested in some stocks and stuff. I got burned and I started to study economy.
griff: As a result of you fucking up your money?
Richard Kruspe: As a result of losing money and also trusting other people. I was just tired of not understanding why I would lose money that I was earning so I started a journey to just understand where money was coming from and how the world is running or how the system is running and how we consume and all this stuff, so it was an interesting time just to understand where we were at that moment, you know? I think we were in deep shit actually, haha! But I do invest. I'm investing in silver at the moment, actually.
griff: Ok? That's… different. You guys have been around for almost sixteen years now. Your band has never changed, your line-up has never changed. You get bands who break up all the time. How the fuck did you guys manage to do that, to stay together. I mean, there must be fights, coming close to the brink where you just want to kill each other?
Richard Kruspe: Well, not killing but definitely splitting up and its a big burden, you know, I suppose everything has a good and a bad side, obviously. I do believe that we have this special chemistry between us and I would try to make any kind of compromise possible to not change that. Everyone has to, because we have this little democracy going on in the band and… which is very difficult to live as we know in real life. The same thing as in a band. You know, the older you get, the more complicated it gets because everyone has his own way of dealing with things and it's complicated but not undoable. So you have to be patient, you have to be trying to compromise a lot, you always have to see the bigger picture. You just have to try and put your ego behind the door and try to think is it really important for you right now or is it just an ego thing?' It is kind of a life therapy that you go through. At the end of the day it's worth doing. It is kind of like the same thing with relationships – you're changing and breaking up everytime you have a problem until you realise 'well, if the next girl or whatever comes, then you have the same problem'. So I mean the problem really here in life is to learn and I see it more like 'why can't you learn right now' rather than to do it to someone else? Haha. I'm trying to do it right now, here.
griff: So obvisouly you run it is a tight business as well?
Richard Kruspe: Well ja, of course, at some point you realise you're 43 right now, you've achieved something very special with the band, you know. And there is a lot at stake. You know, you don't wanna throw it away, you're financially independant. In a way, You're afraid of losing it. There's a lot of things there too. You think twice before you make a decision and there are so many times where anyone felt like "That's it, I'm moving out. I can't fucking take it anymore!" Everyone has his own little trick to deal with it. My trick is to move away to New York so I have the distance between the band and myself.
griff: Cool. Tell me, on your new album – you guys had over 40 songs that you sort of thrashed out to eventually get it down to 12.
Richard Kruspe: Oh, more like ideas. I wouldn't say songs…
griff: Oh, okay?
Richard Kruspe: It was more like, we had a whole lot of ideas
griff: So what what happened to the rest of those ideas because obviously there must be something left to carry on to a next project or a next album?
Richard Kruspe: Well, at the moment I don't want to think about it. Something somebody told me is "if you wanna make God smile, tell him your plans", so haha, we don't need plans anymore. At the moment they're in the computer and they weren't strong enough to survive the record, so you know, there must be something wrong with that, you know? And everything belongs kind of to a time. That's my experience with music. You know, when you're in a special moment and a special time you write certain things and its kind of odd when like 5 years later you getting … unless it's strong otherwise its kind of dull because it wasn't on the record and when you listen to it you're moving yourself too… My guess is it will stay in the computer, haha.
griff: Haha, true. Ok, don't take this the wrong way, but your music has very basic riffs. Its very… very.. uhm…
Richard Kruspe: Minimalistic?
griff: Minimilistic, Ja, haha, thanks. Minimalistic. How do get from there, from those riffs to blowing it up to what it is? Why are you guys a phenomenon with that specifically?
Richard Kruspe: First of all, we like to make things simple because we have so many layers of so many things. If we would like start to, even like start from the beginning with difficult riffs there would not be enough space for other layers or instruments, you know with all the electrics and sequencers and all that stuff. Personally I just like to be simple at music.griff: Well, it works brilliantly
Richard Kruspe: Ja, its kind of a trademark. It started out that way and it's something that I am actually proud of – that we actually developed a trademark, something that you don't… I mean you have bands like this, bands like The Ramones or the Pistols or AC/DC. Those are people, when you listen to it, you know that's them and with so many other bands you don't really know because the songs sound like someone else..
griff: There seems to be a lot of those these days…
Richard Kruspe: Ja, I like the fact that when you turn up whatever, your ipod or your radio and you listen to a song and you know its "Ah, it is Rammstein. It can only be Rammstein." It has to be authentic, it has to be original and that is what Rammstein is all about.
griff: Of course ja. Your song "Wiener Blut" Am I pronouncing it right?
Richard Kruspe: Yeah
griff: It seems to be about Jozef Fritzel. Now, there seems to be like lots of extremes of love on the album. Theres this song and then you've got a song like "Pussy" which is totally on the other side. What was the idea with all these different themes? Are you reaching into the different corners of love or…
Richard Kruspe: I think that must be a question for Till because he writes the lyrics, but I can relate to it because we're always searching for… somehow for the darker side of love, sex, whatever it is. Something that just interests us. It's you know… The way we are interested in things in life. Interests in the darker side of life, you know – a serial killer, a cannibal, all this kind of stuff. Something rings inside me.
griff: Ja…
Richard Kruspe: To explain that… Maybe it is something to do with how we were brought up. Maybe it has something to do with the system that controlled us over years, that we got sensored over years. Maybe we're trying to break out of that? There can be so many explanations for why we are interested in that, but we are. And songs like "Pussy" is just one of those party songs.griff: Haha, it is, it is.
Richard Kruspe: Just some horny motherfuckers! Hahaha!
griff: Hahaha! The one thing that I actually found quite hilarious from "Pussy" is 'blitzkrieg mit dem fleischgewehr'. Now that to me – 'fleischgewehr' – it is such a fuckin' funny word for a dick. We have similar things which we call zef slang on our webiste, Watkykjy. On that same note, I actually brought you guys presents, keeping in line with that. It's a shirt.
Richard Kruspe: Ah nice! It has a fish coming out.
griff: Ja, and what it says there is "Broeksnoek" Now 'broek' is, I think in German 'hosen', pants. So 'snoek' is a South African fish.
Richard Kruspe: OK?
griff: So 'broeksnoek' can be linked to 'fleischgewehr' in a way. It is another word for 'pussy'
Richard Kruspe: Ah, I see. Thank you very much!
griff: There is some more stuff in there for each band member. There is another shirt that says "Fokof jou fokken fokker!"
Richard Kruspe: Hahaha, cool! Thank you very much!
griff: One more thing. Sorry, second last thing. Last week, you guys were in Australia, am I right?
Richard Kruspe: That's correct, ja.
griff: You guys had some drinks with Die Antwoord. Yo-Landi Vi$$er told me you all had some tequila and champagne which you shake together.
Richard Kruspe: Exactly
griff: You know she missed her flight the next day?
Richard Kruspe: Really?
griff: To South Africa, ja.
Richard Kruspe: Bad for her, hahaha!
Richard Kruspe: Weren't they like going to Japan or something?
griff: Ninja was going to Japan. Yo-Landi was supposed to go to Cape Town, I think on the same flight as you guys and she totally missed her flight.
Richard Kruspe: Well, I bet you she had a good experience, haha.
griff: Did you find them to be nice people?
Richard Kruspe: Yeah, they were really interesting people. We were watching the shows then he came… Actually funny, when he came to Tool, ha, for some reason he got lost – he was trying to meet Till, our singer and he went to the dressing room of Tool and said like "I want to speak to Tool" And we're like 'oh wait' and the singer came and said "Oh well, I'm Tool". So there was a bit of a misunderstanding until they realised he was talking about Till, not Tool.
griff: Haha! I sort of see maybe a tie-in with them and you guys. You guys begin German – a lot of people don't understand it. They just sort of live for the music and like it and the the same goes for Die Antwooord in other countries, them being Afrikaans. Do you agree?
Richard Kruspe: You know, again, I think that if you create something thats authentic and unique as Rammstein, then I don't think you really have a problem with the language. I just remember when I was a child I couldn't understand English and I was still rocking and it worked for me. Also I think that because we're so visual when we play live that we kind of are trying to build visual riches that people understand. It becomes more of an opera. You know, when you go to an opera then you expect people to sing Italian or German or whatever. So with Rammstein it is kind of the same thing. If you have this visual character that we do have then language just becomes more of an instrument.griff: That's cool, ja. Last question before I go: Why is Flake always getting fucked up? He is getting tied to bombs, set fire to…
Richard Kruspe: Becasue he is the weakest
griff: … fucked in the ass…
Richard Kruspe: Hahahaha!
griff: … those kind of things. Your album is about 'love' supposedly. Why don't you guys take turns? Hahaha! Why don't you guys take turns with getting beaten up a bit?
Richard Kruspe: It is his character.
griff: Issit?
Richard Kruspe: Ja. We wouldn't make fans. If Till had to do it to me… I would probably you know, like… uhm.. I'll do… something. I think it kind of makes sense for his character because he is thin. It's just his role that he plays and I think he plays it really well – he symbolises the humour …
griff: He is like the little kid that gets fucked up at school but he still somehow has buddies …
Richard Kruspe: Of course! He is definitely a big part of the band, it's just an act that he does. It's just working, it is just so obvious in a way that it just makes sense. We wouldn't substitute him for anyone else.griff: It seems that my time is up. Thanks a lot. It was great meeting you.
Richard Kruspe: Thank you, and thank you for the t-shirts.
griff: Cool, man, it is a great pleasure.
Richard Kruspe: Enjoy the show.
griff: Looking forward to it, thanks. Cheers, have fun.
Richard Kruspe: Cheers!
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