Tokio Hotel Rocks

Post by www.tokiohotelrocks.com

Everyone knows Germany’s most successful band “Tokio Hotel” – the song writer and manager David Jost is less known.

Hamburg’s currently most successful music producer likes to stay in the background, doesn’t talk in front of cameras and rarely has the time for interviews: David Jost (37), producer, song writer and manager of Tokio Hotel is a workaholic. He’s been the man behind the long since internationally super successful band. He wrote all the big hits together with Bill Kaulitz for Tokio Hotel. At the moment, the song “I Like” that he wrote with Robin Grubert and is sung by US star Keri Hilson on #1 of the charts. Jost talked to MOPO about his job and his life between Hollywood and Hamburg.

MOPO: What did you think when you met the boys from Tokio Hotel seven years ago?
Jost: At that time, I never planned to work with the band exclusively. But after I’d heard and seen the band with my production partners, I was paralysed. The emotional potential of Bill, who was 13 at the time, was incredible. Even when he was just a little boy he was exceptional, carried a huge melancholia but also a huge will to fight within him. We worked out his song ideas in the studio together. A lot of people said back then that it could not work and that the band name Tokio Hotel was too strange. All over I vouched that the band would enter a #1 hit; if that hadn’t worked, I would have looked quite stupid.

MOPO: What is so special about Tokio Hotel?
Jost: The star potential of that band is incredibly high, and you can find a lead singer like Bill, if at all, once every other decade or something. The boys are also very clever and are involved in every decision that concerns the band. In the recent years, they automatically got a complete music-business education next to their career on stage. Especially Tom really worked himself into that. Should he ever not feel like being on stage, anymore, he can be very successful behind the scenes.

MOPO: On top of your work for Tokio Hotel, your song “I Like” is on #1. The song from the movie “Zweiohrküken”.
Jost: I had met Til Schweiger, because he was looking for songs for his movie. Schweiger decides from the stomach. When he heard the first few seconds of “I Like”, he wanted to have the track, immediately. We thought that Keri Hilson would be the perfect voice for “I Like”. I sent her the song and she agreed to sing it, right away! I didn’t expect it to go to #1 immediately, though.

MOPO: Other than most producers, you keep in the background. What kind of luxury do you treat yourself to?
Jost: I’m grateful that I was able to make songwriting my job. Luxury to me means that I can be comfortable while working. I spend a lot of money on services. I’m not interested in material things like cars or shopping.

MOPO: You spent the last ten months in LA. Does that mean you say goodbye to Hamburg?
Jost: At first sight, LA is a culture-less plastic city. You have to find LA for yourself, first. We set up a studio between Venice and Santa Monica. Here, you get a different view of the world and you get to focus on your work without the stress. But I’ll always keep my flat in Hamburg, because it remains the most beautiful city in Germany.

Source; mopo