The X-Factor

Text & Photos by Fred Berger

Darkwave favorites Xmal Deutschland and Clan of Xymox

Keywords: Xmal Deutschland, Anja Huwe, Clan of Xymox, Anke Wolbert, New York nightclub The World, New York nightclub The Downtown Club, 4AD Records, darkwave

“X” in scientific terms represents an unknown quantity or phenomenon, and this certainly was the case at the inception of the darkwave bands Xmal Deutschland and Clan of Xymox who laid the foundations of that avantgarde genre. In search of this origin point, I recently delved deep into the Propaganda archives and uncovered long-unseen photos of Xmal’s front woman Anja Huwe and Xymox’s lead musician Anke Wolbert. They depict the former in concert at The World nightclub in 1985 and the latter at the Downtown Club in 1989, both noteworthy underground venues in Lower Manhattan. When it comes to Euro darkwave, there was nothing like these two beautiful blonde sirens luring us into a parallel dimension of mystery and enchantment. They were the epitome of the genre’s melancholic intellectual and aesthetic sophistication, as were their corresponding groups.

Both bands came out of the early ‘80s 4AD school of alternative music, with Xmal based in Hamburg, Germany and Xymox originating in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. After achieving international notoriety and receiving extensive coverage in Propaganda Magazine, by the start of the next decade Xmal had disbanded and Xymox morphed into a typical goth act, prompting the departure of the maverick Anke. The latter group continues to this day with guitarist/singer Ronny Moorings still at the helm and Anke pursuing a cross-disciplinary artistic career. For her part, Anja Huwe declined to launch an Xmal revival and has devoted herself to abstract painting. If I were to select the two songs that best demonstrate the singing and song-writing prowess of these two remarkable women, it would be Xmal’s 1982 hit single “Incubus Succubus” and Xymox’s 1989 hit single “Imagination.”