OA: You are going to be playing at a Ladyfest in Sweden and to the one in Vienna in June. Did they get in touch with you?
Krawalla: For the Ladyfest Austria yes, they did get in touch with me because they saw me at the Amsterdam Ladyfest. Then I asked if I could perform at the Danish one.... And I wanted to go up, because I really enjoy playing in Scandinavia, so I just checked on the net for Ladyfest or other things going on. That is how I saw it was two in Sweden. It was only the Malmø people who wanted me, though, not the Stockholm ones.... they have bad taste I guess (laughs)

OA: There are quite a few Ladyfests in Germany, is the feminist underground network working better there than anywhere else?
Krawalla: I do not think so, it has not been that many Ladyfest, and then there was this little one in Berlin that I did not even recognize. We were on tour anyway, but it is not lie the information went through that much, unlike the Vienna people. I just realized it when it was done I do not think they called it Ladyfest. It was Women Up or something.

OA: Do you feel like a lot of people are being disillusioned by the Ladyfest concept because they feel it sometimes turns into a trade mark?
Krawalla: Some kind of Ladyfest imperialism (laughs)... No, I do not know, we should ask them... I personally think it is cool to see it is growing.

OA: Yeah, I do too. It must be especially convenient for people who love touring. But what do you do when you are not touring?
Krawalla: I am officially unemployed... Don’t tell them (laughs) I have got it for 9 years now, and I think it is a decent sponsor (laughs) A good wage for artists. The problem is that i learnt a job, but they are unable to provide me with a position, because there are basically no jobs for this and the law say they have to give me money that is worth my qualifications. I am a designer for theatre settings, but then if you have not done it for five years or so, you are totally out and nobody wants you... basically I hope I can do that until I am eighty (laughs)

OA: We played music before you started your Räuberhöhle solo project, right?
Krawalla: Yes, I have been playing in band since I was eighteen or something... and now I am thirty-one....

OA: What kind of band was it then?
Krawalla: Essentially emo and hardcore stuff. I just sang, though, for it was not it was not allowed for girls to play instrument at that time. I mean not allowed, but it was not common at all, it was more usual to have the boys make the music and the girls sing nice.

OA: And you did no find the scene very supportive to enable you to make music?
Krawalla: well, at that moment you felt really feministic because you sang in a hardcore band. Also that was really knew. After a while I got bored of it, though and I played in bands where it was girls also who played instruments but it never went really far.... it was an all-girl band but it was a total waste of time.

OA: Was it riot grrrl oriented?
Krawalla: Yes, we tried to, but we all had different tastes....one liked metal, another liked dark ambient, with a fast punk drummer and I wanted to play keyboard. We practiced for one and a half year and we had two songs, or something.... and these songs were really terrible, so I quit after a while

OA: Did you already have a strong feministic stand in this band already?
Krawalla: Yes, we tried, but even on that subject, we had different ideas.

OA: Well, it does sound like a pretty colourful band...
Krawalla: It was indeed

OA: Who in music or in art would you say are your main references, People you inspired you or made you feel strong about who you are?
Krawalla: Artwise, it is Tamara Delimpica. She was a painter in the 50s. Musicwise I think it is not just girls. think I got inspired by people that do music alone, like Rainbow Marquis, a friend of mine, and probably Le Tigre for the sound. But I do not know really, because it was about experimenting in the beginning. I started with Atari sounds and then I had this recorda that was reading texts and sounded terrible, so I mixed it and used it as background for the concerts that I organized. People were like ‘ah shit, what is that???’ I thought that was really funny. Then i got more and more into it and started playing keyboards.

OA: How did you come up with the idea of the puppet show then?
Krawalla: Because I did not want to be alone on stage I do not like electro shows when they use laptops and just stand there. They look like they are not dong anything and I do not like that. The first idea was that I wanted to explain with the puppet show why there is only one girl on stage, and it all ended up presenting the bear coming and practicing as well.

OA: You lyrics are often pretty queer oriented but you do not seem to have a queer discourse around your show...
Krawalla: Well I think songs like ‘we love Girl’ is like a statement, don’t you think?

OA: Yes, yes, of course, but I am thinking of bands like The Rhythm King and her Friends or Electrelane whom are referred to as ‘queer bands’ because their queer stand is a crucial part of their work.
Krawalla: I just talked to a friend of mine who is gay and he told me he had a problem with them because he said they were really anti-man, but that is basically the only thing I heard about them. I have never really had the chance to talk to them.

OA: And how do you deal with separatists shows since you have a boy bear with you?
Krawalla: I never had t deal with the question so far, and I guess that if I did, I would find a girl bear. and I mean, he is a good bear, but there are also other bears waiting (laughs) I would definitely play there, though. I like all-girls parties. We’ll see if it is one in Malmø.

OA: Thank you so much for the gig and the interview. Good luck with the tour and we hope to see you soon again!