Anja Huwe

Anja Huwe

Anja Huwe is a musician and contemporary artist from Hamburg, Germany. She is best known as the singer and co-founder of Xmal Deutschland, the post-punk and gothic rock group she forms in Hamburg in 1980 with bassist Rita Simon, guitarist Manuela Rickers, keyboardist Fiona Sangster and drummer Caro May.

Xmal Deutschland

Xmal Deutschland becomes closely associated with the early development of German gothic rock. The band’s 1982 single “Incubus Succubus” features Huwe’s voice over driving drums, sharp guitars and sampled human screams, and the group tours with the Cocteau Twins in England the same year. The band releases three albums in the 1980s — Fetisch, Tocsin and Viva — which become widely regarded as goth classics. By the time of Devils in 1989, the group shifts away from its earlier horror-inflected style towards a more pop-oriented sound. In 1990, Xmal Deutschland enters the studio to record another album, but it is never completed.

Style and influence

Huwe is often compared to Siouxsie Sioux, and her work is linked to the darker end of post-punk, gothic rock, darkwave, gothic and punk. Her vocals are described as functioning as an instrument in their own right, with emphasis on texture and movement even when the lyrics are not understood by listeners who do not speak German. Her influence is heard in bands such as The March Violets and Identity Crisis.

Visual art and other work

Alongside music, Huwe works as a contemporary artist. She describes her art as an exploration of the sound of colours, rhythms and harmonies. She also works successfully as an editor and producer for a German music channel and makes films about music, people and art. She lives between Hamburg and New York and continues to work internationally.

Solo work

After a long gap following Xmal Deutschland’s last album, Huwe returns with a solo album, Codes.