Today marks the premiere release of Hopeless Romantik, a visual chapter of Frau Fatal’s theatrical pulse. The album weaves sharp contrasts of playfulness and raw emotion—four years of writing, a breakup, and a reunion shaped its eclectic moods. Love, depression, euphoria—each track occupies its own space, bound by tension and release. Berlin’s techno dominance looms, but Das Beat moves in its own sphere, blending electronic grit with live energy. Their sound isn’t about nostalgia or reinvention; it’s instinctive, fluid, and charged with real experiences—sometimes absurd, sometimes devastating, always real.

Frau Fatal is theatrical, playful, and deeply emotive, yet there’s a sharp edge to it. What state of mind shaped the album?

So many different emotions went into making this record! The album took almost four years to complete due to a romantic breakup between the two of us. So there was a one and a half year break in the middle where we did no music at all. We’re friends again and working together, but we changed as people during this time and this is reflected in the music. Different moods and life experiences over the four years created a collection of songs with a wide mix of styles and emotions. We write on conflicted views on love and depression, with some happier and some darker themes, and end up with many genres including new wave, electronic and pop.

Berlin’s club scene is a machine with its own rhythm. Do you feel like you’re moving against it, or have you created a parallel universe within it?

It’s a good question because the city is dominated by techno/dance music. We find ourselves at an important time in Berlin’s cultural development because techno has now more or less become the mainstream. We find this to be a an intriguing aspect about Berlin that makes it special and different from other large cities that have already undergone cultural shifts. Nonetheless we find ourselves identifying much more with the live music scene due to our songwriting approach to music making. However there’s something about our sound that is still related to dance music in terms of the heavy kick drum and bass sounds, aka “Das Beat”. Compared to other live bands, we have a relatively electronic sound as well as using some modern production that can only be done with the computer, combined with live guitar and singing.

Your sets feel more like an encounter than a concert. What do you want the audience to walk away with?

For sure if you come to a Das Beaty show it’s going to be loud and theatrical, with a lot of dancing and new sounds. We still try and transport our softness and sadness in a fun and playful way. Performance is always a communication between audience and the artist, so every time it’s going to be a unique experience and we’re lucky so far that our audiences have been inspiring us every single time. Our concert at Berghain this Valentines Day represents the perfect combination of our live and electronic influences.

Wrestling My Mind resonated deeply, touching on internal struggles with anthemic intensity. Do you see your music as catharsis?

Totally, music has the power to heal, and this is very apparent. It’s a great power of music that we hope to communicate. Writing music has helped us dealing with mental health issues by finding a fun twist in some really dark issues. Especially preforming them, we find a way to channel the struggle into a positive way.

Love in your songs isn’t just romance—it’s obsession, disillusionment, absurdity. Do you write from experience, or do you enjoy playing with the idea of love itself?

We definitely write from experience. All the subjects are things we’ve actually felt, people we’ve met, breakups we’ve been through, places we’ve been to. Writing the songs helps us to process these relationships and feelings., By driving the songs into absurdity, hopefully we end up acting a little bit less crazy in real life.

Your reinterpretation of Femme Fatale flips the narrative from observation to self-definition. What does it mean to reclaim that title?

E: Growing up as a woman I’ve been always confronted with being called too slutty or too bitchy or even too prude, my sexuality was always being judged. I find it important to be able to express myself and be whoever I want to be without the stigma. A Frau Fatal can be someone really beautiful and strong and I identify with that.

In a time when so many artists chase a signature sound, you keep shifting. Do you see that as evolution or refusal to be pinned down?

A: I think something that makes Das Beat special is its combination of genres, especially bringing live band and electronic music together. We will always be evolving to create something that no one has heard before. It feels useless to rehash the same tones that everyone has heard already, for example in 80s/90s/00s music without chaining something that makes it unique. We do this with production techniques borrowed from modern pop, techno, electronic music, for example bigger kick drums and bass sounds, cool reversed vocal effects, layering synth techniques, things that one can’t do in the traditional setup of a band. However we approach the group still as a live project and play with real instruments on stage.