Til Lindemann with Rammstein on stage
Photo: Redferns, Bob King. All rights reserved.
Rammstein singer Till Lindemann is currently in the public eye due to allegations of abuse of power and abusive behavior. The Berlin band is said to have come up with their own system called “Row Zero” to get young women to have sex at after-show parties after the concerts. In a statement, Rammstein called for prejudice to be avoided. Lindemann meanwhile rejected all allegations about his lawyers as untrue. The Berlin public prosecutor is investigating against him.
From the pop scene, Jan Müller is the first prominent musician to speak on the subject of Rammstein. In his next MUSIKEXPRESS column, however, the Tocotronic bassist immediately qualifies that he is not interested in assessing the current allegations against the band and their singer. He couldn’t foresee “what really happened in detail and to what extent the singer’s behavior is just repulsive or even criminal,” writes Müller. “That’s not what it should be about here. Rather, I wonder how it was possible for this product to receive so much recognition over the years.”
In the following, Jan Müller lashes out at Rammstein: “The band is nothing more than an advertising agency for itself; armed with huge amplifiers and pyrotechnics”. And he goes on to explain: “Lyrics and shows that always leave an ironic back door open make this band, despite all the muscular show on display, a helpless pudding mass”.
At the end, the musician recommends: “Just listen to something else”.
In his “Reflector” column in MUSIKEXPRESS, Jan Müller regularly reports on his podcast encounters, for which he meets interesting musicians. In his new text, however, he devotes himself to the current debate, which is why the column appeared online before it was published in the 08/2023 issue of MUSIKEXPRESS.
You can read the entire “Reflector” column here.
All developments on the topic can be found here.