Exclusive: Watch Tokio Hotel In The Studio, Recording Humanoid

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See Bill Kaulitz talking about recording his vocal tracks.
By James Montgomery

Tokio Hotel’s Bill Kaulitz

Photo: MTV News

Tokio Hotel’s much-anticipated Humanoid album doesn’t hit stores until October 6, and the guys know the wait is killing their fans, which is why they’ve given MTV News a bit of exclusive content to share with everyone.

We’ve already partnered with the band to preview their first single, “Automatic,” and to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the song’s epic video too. And now, we’re taking you inside the Los Angeles studio where Tokio Hotel recorded Humanoid.

In the never-before-seen footage, frontman Bill Kaulitz shows off his vocal recording room (which is decidedly sparse) and his high-tech vocal mixer, which, as he explains “doesn’t exist in Germany … which is why we’re producing in L.A.”
He also describes his recording technique, which could be summed up in one word: “loud” (or “Spinal Tap,” but that’s two words).

“Most people use regular ‘headphone volume,’ but I can’t stand it. I need to feel like I’m onstage and I’m standing beside the other guys,” he explains, cranking the volume knob on his mixer up to 11. “I kind of need an extra amplifier, so I can listen to everything really loud. … You can do crazy things with it. You can’t get this in Germany.”
We also get to see guitarist Tom Kaulitz show off a skill most fans didn’t know he had: playing the piano. Though, of course, given that it’s Tom, while he’s tickling the ivories, his main focus has shifted elsewhere … to naked ladies.

“That’s the most exciting of all,” he tells a producer about something off-camera. “When she’s standing completely naked in front of the thing. Did you also see that?”
“You need to listen to the riff. You’re playing this love ballad,” the producer interrupts, before deciding that this ship has already sailed. “You mean the one with the sweet butt, when she’s standing in front of the mirror?”

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