Last February, Anja Huwe took to the stage at the Grauzone Festival in The Hague for a set that included songs from Xmal Deutschland, the post-punk outfit she fronted throughout the 1980s. Huwe hadn’t performed these songs live since the band’s demise some 35 years earlier. In fact, after Xmal Deutschland, Huwe stepped away from the stage to focus on her career as a visual artist. Meanwhile, songs like “Mondlicht,”  “Incubus Succubus” and “Qual” have become classics of the era. Out in the crowd were multiple generations of fans. 

“I had to go out there and I saw these people, so many people, so I just tried to concentrate,” Huwe says, adding with a laugh, “I’ve got to get it right.”