Anka Wolbert (also Anke Wolbert, born 10 June 1963) is a Dutch musician, singer, songwriter and artist, best known for her work with

Clan of Xymox Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of dark wave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singer-songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained ...

Music career

Xymox, Clan of Xymox

Anka Wolbert co-founded the band Xymox with Ronny Moorings in 1981, self-publishing their first mini-album '' Subsequent Pleasures'' in 1983.

Pieter Nooten Pieter Nooten (born 22 January 1961 in Oss) is a Dutch musician and composer best known for his work with Clan of Xymox. Music career Nooten's musical career began in the late 1970s. Starting out as the drummer in a local symphonic rock band, h ...

joined the band as third songwriter shortly after this release. With the name Xymox lengthened to

, they signed a recording contract with independent UK label 4AD and released their eponymous debut album ''

'' in 1985. The track ''7th Time'', with Anka Wolbert on lead vocals, was picked up by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, leading to the band recording twice at the Peel Sessions at the BBC, in June and November 1985. Peel referred to the band's dark and melancholic sound as

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

. In 1986, Clan of Xymox released their second album ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

'' on 4AD. The album was described by Sounds as "an overriding achievement … every track sounds like the finale to a brooding epic overture", with the track ''Masquerade'' (written and sung by Wolbert) described as "an elegant ballad with her bass high in the mix and scored with strings". Wolbert and Moorings moved to London and the band toured the United States and Europe. As their US success grew, Clan of Xymox left 4AD and signed to New York-based label PolyGram. Abbreviated to Xymox again, the band's third album '' Twist of Shadows'' was released on PolyGram in 1989. In the United States, this album created a cult following for the band with much support from college radio stations and sold out venues on live tours. Two singles taken from the Twist of Shadows album, ''Blind Hearts'' and ''Obsession'', reached the US Billboard charts. The album's third single ''Imagination'', written and sung by Anka Wolbert, brought the band the most mainstream attention, charting at No. 85 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, generating Top 40 radio airplay and MTV rotation of the ''Imagination'' video. Shortly after the release of their fourth album '' Phoenix'' on PolyGram in 1991, Wolbert moved from London to NYC, home to Polygram's headquarters. Wolbert left Xymox in 1992.

Solo and collaborative career

In 1993, Wolbert collaborated with Toni Halliday (from the band

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

) on a new album under the band name of Bud. Wolbert was signed by Dave Stewart of

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

to the publishing side of his label, Anxious Records. While the Bud album didn't see a release, material written for this album was taken to a new band started by Wolbert called Vaselyn in 1994. Wolbert returned to 4AD signing a development deal with the label in 1994. Pieter Nooten joined Vaselyn as co-writer and musician in 1995. In 1996, Vaselyn signed a worldwide deal to a subsidiary of

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Music, The Enclave, in NYC. In 1997, EMI folded the label into

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

which left many artists in limbo, Vaselyn one of them, and Wolbert decided to take a break from the music industry. Wolbert recorded and released her first solo album ''Cocoon Time'', co-produced by Pieter Nooten, on I-Rain Records in 2006. ''Slug Magazine'' reviewed the album as exotic, atmospheric pop with an edge and "a triumphant return". ''Textura Magazine'' wrote that the album "impresses as a splendid and oft-intoxicating collection of classic songwriting, romantic mood-sculpting, and earthy vocalizing." Dutch music magazine '' OOR'' classified the album as "sincere pop" and "full of strong melodies, striking textual depth full of sincerity about love, rock & roll life, sex, addictions and being on the run". ''Chain D.L.K.'' called it "a hypnotic masterpiece. Anka's songwriting skills have proven to be the best even since the Xymox-era of what she had to display." In the same year, Wolbert co-produced Nooten's solo album ''Ourspace'' on I-Rain Records. Wolbert and Nooten also co-produced Sophie Zeyl's album ''Running Two Ways'' on I-Rain Records in 2006. Anka Wolbert lives in London and is a (digital) artist/ photographer.

Discography

With Clan of Xymox

Studio albums *''

'' (4AD, 1985) *''

'' (4AD, 1986) *'' Twist of Shadows'' (

Wing Records Wing Records was a record label subsidiary of Mercury Records founded in 1955, that found its greatest success during the late 1950s. In 1986, the label was revived by Mercury's parent company, PolyGram and the label had brief success with R&B s ...

/Polydor, 1989) *'' Phoenix'' (

/PolydorNYC, 1991) Singles/EPs *'' Subsequent Pleasures'' (vinyl 12", self-released, 1983; re-released Dark Entries Records, 2014) *"A Day" (12", 4AD, 1986) *"A Day/Stranger" (12", 4AD, 1985) *"Louise" (7", Megadisc, 1986) *"Muscoviet Musquito" (promotional 7", Virgin France 1986) *"Blind Hearts" (12", 4AD/Rough Trade, 1987) *"Blind Hearts" (12", PolyGram, 1989) *"Obsession" (12", PolyGram, 1989) *"Imagination" (12" and CD-single, PolyGram, 1989) *"Phoenix" (CD and LP, Wing/Polydor, 1991) *"Phoenix of My Heart" (Maxi CD and 12", Wing/Polydor, 1991) *"At the End of the Day" (Maxi CD and 12", Wing/Polydor, 1991)

As Anka Wolbert

Studio album *''Cocoon Time'' (I-Rain, 2006)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolbert, Anka 1963 births Dutch bass guitarists Dutch expatriates in the United Kingdom Dutch electronic musicians Dutch graphic designers Dutch women graphic designers Dutch women songwriters Dutch keyboardists Dutch women keyboardists Women bass guitarists Women new wave singers Lesbian singers Lesbian songwriters Dutch LGBTQ singers Dutch LGBTQ songwriters Living people Dutch new wave musicians Dutch lesbian musicians Musicians from Amsterdam Dark wave musicians Post-punk musicians 20th-century Dutch LGBTQ people 21st-century Dutch LGBTQ people Women in punk