Betina Köstler

Born Bettina Köster in Herford, West Germany on 15 June 1959, she became a central figure in the West Berlin underground after enrolling at the Hochschule der Kunste in 1978. She co-founded the all-female avant-garde band Mania D. in 1979 and that same year started Malaria! with Gudrun Gut, a group that merged minimal electronics, dub rhythms, and confrontational vocals into one of the defining sounds of the era. John Peel described the Malaria! members as his Queens of Noise on a July 1981 broadcast. She later composed for film and released work under the name Autonervous. She died on 16 March 2026.