Recommendations of the Editorial team
Do you already know Rosa Anschütz? Her output is characterized by an extraordinary artistic complexity: her work combines composition, installation and performance to form an independent cosmos between sound art and pop. The Berlin musician’s sound moves between dark ambient, post-punk and cold wave, carried by an urgent, floating voice that oscillates between singing and spoken word.
The result is music that is both hypnotic and resistant – one that surrenders to the moment and at the same time fights against it. Analog instruments such as trumpet and guitar meet electronic production methods and form an ethereal, often cinematic sound language.
Funding from the Music as a Catalyst Initiative
An important building block on their journey so far is the support provided by the Music Initiative. This support enables artists like Rosa Anschütz to realize their projects on an international level and to open up new artistic spaces.
Especially in the context of global platforms, it becomes clear how crucial such programs are: they create visibility, promote exchange and strengthen the international presence of German music. This is particularly impressive in the context of the German Music Export Program.
SXSW, German Haus and our interview for Rolling Stone
As part of the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Rosa Anschütz was part of the GERMAN HAUS – a central platform for German acts with international appeal. A total of 16 artists presented the sound of today, from electronic club music to experimental forms.
Anschütz performed there and described the gig as a highlight of her tour. She also played a DJ set at the ROLLING STONE reception.
And that’s exactly where we met her for a video interview. In this talk, she talks about the concrete opportunities that funding the Music Initiative has opened up for her, what she would like to achieve in the future and how she stays in the here and now.
About the video interview with Rosa Anschütz:
Production: Inshorefilms
A look at her work to date
Rosa Anschütz has already established herself as an independent voice with several publications. Her debut album “Votive” (2020) combined music with sculptural art, while “Goldener Strom” (2022) was staged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. With “Interior” (2024), she continued her interdisciplinary approach by interweaving music and visual art. Further works followed.
And her current album “Sabbatical” (2025), released by the US label Heartworm Press, marks an important step: it is her first international release outside of Germany and a work that has grown over eleven years. Instead of classic club structures, she relies on minimalist, intimate sound spaces in which her voice is the focus.
The content of the record revolves around questions of letting go, devotion and inner purification. It is a personal and artistic statement – and at the same time proof of an uncompromising creative vision.
An artist with international appeal
With “Sabbatical” and her international appearances, including at SXSW, Rosa Anschütz is increasingly establishing herself as one of the most exciting avant-garde voices of her generation. Her music crosses boundaries between genres, disciplines and geographical spaces.
The interplay between individual artistic signature, institutional support through the Music Initiative and international platforms such as SXSW shows how German music can open up new spaces of resonance globally.
