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Artist
Bettina Köster
12+ albums
post-punkelectronicexperimentaljazzmalaria
about
Bettina Köster (15 June 1959 – 17 March 2026) was a German musician, composer, poet, music producer, and author. She was a singer and primary lyricist for the band Malaria! from 1981 to 1984 and later worked as a solo artist. Köster was known for her deep, warm, and smoky voice and became regarded as an influential figure in the queer subculture. In 2021, she described herself as non-binary. Köster began her musical career in Berlin during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and played saxophone in the underground band DIN A Testbild from autumn 1978. In May 1979, she co-founded the all-female band Mania D with Karin Luner, Beate Bartel, Eva Gössling, and Gudrun Gut. Mania D performed in New York at Arleen Schloss’ Performance Loft "A’s" and Club Tier 3 in autumn 1979. In summer 1979, Köster and Gut opened the concept store Eisengrau, which combined underground fashion, Super-8 films, and art, and became a meeting point for Berlin's creative scene. Eisengrau also published music by underground bands on cassette from 1980, serving as a medium for the city’s experimental music community. Köster was associated with the Geniale Dilettanten, a loose collective of musicians and artists in Berlin, including Einstürzende Neubauten and Die Tödliche Doris. In 1981, the British radio presenter John Peel dubbed Köster, Gut, and Bartel the "Queens of Noise". Following a split from Beate Bartel, Köster and Gudrun Gut founded Malaria! in 1981,
