2026 Interview: Ilona Rueckwardt

Interview: Ilona Rueckwardt, June 2026

The following interview was originally conducted in early 2026 for an upcoming book on Lostwave. Due to delays in the book’s release, we have received permission to publish the interview in advance on our website. The questions were written by Jesse Beers, and the interview was made possible with the assistance of the The Outer Edge team.

The Outer Edge: How did you get started in music?

Ilona: My start in music wasn’t really a sudden step, but something that had simply always been there. I grew up in a household of musicians.
As a child, however, I was initially more drawn to dance. I absolutely wanted to be on stage, but through movement – ballet, expression, physicality. That need to portray something, to be present, was there early on; only the path to it seemed different to me at the time. Singing and musicals always fascinated me, but back then I couldn’t have said that I would become a musician or a singer.

Image courtesy of Ilona Rückwardt

The Outer Edge: When did you meet Ture Rückwardt?

Ilona: I met him in the fall of 1976, at a housewarming party in a really typical 1970s shared apartment – a bit chaotic, lots of music, lots of people, and yet somehow instantly familiar.

The Outer Edge: How did Modulators come about?

Ilona: Modulators grew out of our shared passion for music and our creative energy. At the time, Ture was playing guitar and composing day and night, and in the evenings we often sat together, letting our ideas flow and developing lyrics jointly. Many song ideas came directly from those moments – spontaneous, a little crazy, and full of energy, just like the time when the Neue Deutsche Welle was just taking off.

I still remember waking up one morning and seeing our dog kissing our cat at the foot of our bed. I immediately had to laugh and said, “Kiss the cat, you poor dog.” That eventually became the song title Küss die Katze (Kiss the Cat). Other titles such as Hygiene, Zebrastreifen (Zebra Crossing, crosswalk), or Ich bin so normal (I’m So Normal) also came from similarly absurd or everyday moments. I like these spontaneous flashes of inspiration because they often already contain an entire story.

The Outer Edge: What did you particularly like about Modulators?

Ilona: I had an incredible amount of fun singing and performing the Neue Deutsche Welle songs on stage. For almost every title, I came up with a small concept or costume to underline the songs. For Fotos, Fotos, I wore a Chinese hat, held a Polaroid camera in my hand, and wore a Chinese-inspired dress. For the song Zebrastreifen, I wore a horizontally striped T-shirt; for Hygiene, a blue plastic bag and a belt with dish sponges.

The Outer Edge: You had an impressive voice and a lot of charisma with Modulators. What did that feel like?

Ilona: It felt incredibly intense. Standing on stage, singing the songs, and feeling the energy of the band and the audience – it gave you real goosebumps. I felt free. I could use my voice, play with expression and dynamics, and at the same time live out the slight theatricality of the songs. I think charisma comes precisely from that combination of joy, concentration, and the desire to communicate something – simply being there, being present, and bringing the songs to life.

The Outer Edge: Is there any more material from Modulators?

Ilona: Yes, definitely. Back then we had a whole program of songs, and it’s possible that Ture still has the recordings from that time.

The Outer Edge: Describe the transition from Modulators to FEX.

Ilona: After our time with Modulators, we wanted to explore new musical paths. That’s how FEX came about. We developed a full English-language program, partly pop-oriented, partly strongly influenced by New Wave. The lineup of musicians also changed, which opened up new possibilities. It was a natural progression from our work with Modulators and an opportunity to try something new.

From left to right: Ilona Rückwardt, Hans-Reimer Sievers, Ture Rückwardt. Image courtesy of Ilona Rückwardt & FEX

The Outer Edge: Which of the songs you sang were your favourites?

Ilona: With Modulators, I didn’t really have a specific favorite song – I always enjoyed the mix of songs and the energy on stage.
With FEX, I most enjoyed singing the edgier, high-energy New Wave pieces, such as Talking Hands, It’s a Hard Life, and Dirty Slapstick.

The Outer Edge: When you returned to FEX after your maternity break, new instruments were added (e.g., saxophone, additional percussion). What became of this new sound?

Ilona: Yes, we expanded the band to eight musicians. That gave the sound even more depth and color, and the pieces became more open and layered. We also added new songs, and it was exciting to see how the program developed into something more vibrant and dynamic.

The Outer Edge: Why did FEX breakup?

Ilona: Towards the end of the 1980s, the band members developed in different directions for personal and professional reasons. Some were heavily involved in their careers, others moved away, and it became increasingly difficult to continue FEX in that form. It wasn’t an abrupt break, but rather a gradual drifting apart.

The Outer Edge: Were you still musically active after FEX/Modulators?

Ilona: Yes, I remained musically active after Modulators and FEX.
In the fall of 1990, Ture and I founded the Rain Dogs – we played in music clubs, open-air events, cultural centers, and festivals. The band existed for many years; we received a cultural award for our work and recorded a live CD titled Heartache Café.

In the late 1990s, I also worked in parallel with a pianist from Hamburg. We composed songs together for a lyricist and performed a program dedicated to old German hits and chansons from the 1920s and 1930s, including pieces by Kurt Weill and Holländer.

The Outer Edge: How does it feel to know that your band from over 40 years ago is receiving worldwide attention today?

Ilona: At first, it was something very positive for me – I was truly happy that FEX was suddenly receiving so much attention again. And not only from fans and online communities like Reddit, but also from television, radio, and international press.

At the same time, however, it was an emotional experience for me. Suddenly, my role in the band’s history was being questioned, even though I was co-founder and FEX’s singer, together with Ture. It felt as if I was being erased from the story.

All the more reason I’m happy now that three tracks featuring my vocals are being released: Promise, Dead End, and Sarah.

The Outer Edge: Do you have any special memories from that time?

Ilona: Definitely the founding of FEX in the fall of 1983. That was really exciting because we conceived the whole thing as a concept. On our promoter flyers it said FEX, and underneath: “Die Karten im Spiel” (“The Cards in Play”) – along with photos of us, each with a playing card tucked into a jacket pocket.

Beneath each card was the musician’s name with a small, tongue-in-cheek addition. It was such a coherent detail that fit FEX perfectly.

And of course the trip to London by Ture and me in the spring of 1984: the theaters, the punk and New Wave scene, the club culture, the fashion – it inspired us tremendously. It was a truly formative time.

”Die Karten im Spiel” From left to right: Karl-Heinz Eckert, Volker, Ilona Rückwardt, Hans-Reimer Sievers, Ture Rückwardt. Image courtesy of Ilona Rückwardt & FEX

The Outer Edge: What influences did you have back then?

Ilona: The influences were more of a mood than a specific sound.
In the early 1980s, everything felt open: NDW, New Wave, post-punk – cool, slightly offbeat yet catchy songs, with melody as a guiding thread.

With Modulators, it was German, quirky, a bit idiosyncratic.

With FEX, it became more “wavy” and melodic – New Wave songs, but not overly poppy.
I was inspired by anything that felt fresh and unspent: songs, lyrics, performance, this play with roles and characters. I followed what felt right.

From front to back: Jörg Lemcke, Ilona Rückwardt, Hans-Reimer Sievers, Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich. Image courtesy of Ilona Rückwardt & FEX

The Outer Edge: Will there be any future releases from Modulators or FEX featuring you?

Ilona: I can’t say. Whether anything else comes depends on various factors.
But if something does happen, I would definitely be on board.

The Outer Edge: Cats or dogs? Küss die Katze, du armer Hund!

Ilona: Cats! Küss die Katze, du armer Hund!

The Outer Edge: Do you prefer cake or ice cream?

Ilona: Ice cream in summer, cake in winter – I’m quite flexible.

The Outer Edge: What do you think about pineapple on pizza?

Ilona: Pineapple on pizza? For me, it’s a no-brainer. Even more so with jalapeños.