Techno
Proven recipe: Scooter release their 21st studio album
HP Baxxter has never played bingo. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
The techno band Scooter is a phenomenon. Frontman HP Baxxter and his team have been bringing the crowds to rave in the same way for 30 years. Now comes album number 21.
When HP Baxxter comes up with ideas for a new song, he’s usually on the road doing it. “The texts actually come about quite randomly – when you’re either on vacation or out in the evening,” he says Scooter frontman for the German Press Agency in Hamburg.
He had one of these flashes of thought on a ferry from Scotland to Amsterdam. There was a lot of gambling going on in the next room – and the 60-year-old heard the emcee shouting again and again: “I keep hearing Bingo”. “I wrote that down straight away.” Whoosh – a line for the next song ready. “I keep hearing Bingo” is now one of 15 new songs on the new Scooter album. It’s called “Open Your Mind And Your Trousers” and as soon as you read the title you can almost hear HP Baxxter’s distinctive voice booming through the speakers to loud techno beats.
High spirits
The Hamburg band, which has been successful on stages around the world for 30 years, also stuck to the tried and tested Scooter recipe for their 21st studio album. Danceable beats, catchy melodies and a voice that inspires the listener even more. It’s hardly about the content, it’s more about the mood, about letting go, about celebrating.
The new studio album was created with the seventh Scooter line-up – including Jay Frog, who was there from 2002 to 2006. Sometimes the team just runs out of steam, says HP Baxxter about the changes. “And then we have a new keyboard player and youngster and somehow a breath of fresh air comes in.” The changes never would have hurt things.
On the contrary. No matter what Scooter has tackled so far, he has often ended up with gold or platinum awards for the amount of records sold. In total, HP Baxxter and his team say they have already distributed more than 30 million records. And not just in Germany. The Hamburg techno dance troupe is also well received abroad, such as in Great Britain and Eastern Europe. The trio will be touring German arenas again in March and April. The tour starts on March 28th in Stuttgart.
Short AI interlude
HP Baxxter also tried artificial intelligence for texting – and quickly abandoned it. “I entered a line of text just for fun and wanted to see if it would do something with it and continue. And then I realized: either the system is too stupid or they don’t understand my sense of humor. Because: That always sounded so normal.”
When it comes to lyrics, the Scooter frontman focuses less on the profound and more on fun and a wink or even the unexpected. “I always make notes when I think something is funny. And later I see where I can use it. It’s like a collage.”
The fish costs 1.59 euros
Has HP Baxxter ever played bingo himself? “No, never!” says the tall blonde with a laugh. His short shouts for the typical scooter rave often keep him busy for a longer period of time. In interviews, for example, he has been asked “an infinite number of times” how much the fish costs. “I often didn’t say anything at the beginning. At some point I settled on 1.59 euros.” He never thought it would last this long. “So from ’98, when it came out, to today, I get asked that over and over again.”