Malaria!

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Created on: 5 Mar 2010
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dedicated to the west berlin based new wave band malaria! and to the good old times of german underground music

In the depths of January 1981, BETTINA KÖSTER and GUDRUN GUT stepped from the smoldering ashes of their previous band MANIA D shouldering the yoke of a feverish new project they called MALARIA!. And with the release of the maxi EP "Malaria!" in April that year, the fever spread.
The band filled out to include MANON P. DUURSMA, NL ("O.U.T." an early Nina Hagen project), CHRISTINE HAHN, USA (Static, Glen Branca) and SUSANNE KUHNKE, BRD (Die Haut) absorbing their diverse backgrounds and personalities and grew.
A first European tour followed during which they appeared on a John Peel session for the BBC and later recorded the single "How do you like my new dog?" for the Belgium label Les Disques du Crepuscule.
Malaria toured the US next appearing with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and one unforgettable gig together with Nina Hagen in New York`s infamous Studio 54 night club. This tour was the first that promoted New German Music in the United States. Meanwhile Malaria recorded the 12" "New York Passage (Your turn to run)" for Cachalot records which went on to reach the independent top 10 in the U.S. as well as in Europe.
During another tour of Europe the band gave birth to "White Water" a 12" long player including "Kaltes Klares Wasser" which went on to become an Indi-classic.
In 1982 Malaria released to critical acclaim their first album, "Emotion". It was licensed to Nippon Columbia in Japan and the video "Geld/Money" (directed by B.Bühler and D.Hormel) won prizes for its innovative editing style. Tours of England, France, Benelux, Italy and Scandinavia followed.
In 1983 three new titles were released, produced by M. Hönig at the Hansa Studio in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Another US tour brought with it the Live Edition "...Revisited"(ROIR) as well as a U.S. recording of "You You". A video clip of the song was directed by Anne Carlisle.
A year later "Beat the Distance" was released by Rebel Records. Then inevitably the group, like petals of a flower that had blossomed and matured giving not only its scent, but too, pollinating gardens of creativity across oceans with the spoors necessary to the eternal cycle of crossbreeding, fell from the slender stem as in a wind twisting each in their own directions: Bettina and Christine to the United States; Gudrun, Manon and Susanne to new vistas in Germany, and so with this end began a 7 year sleep, seeds lying dormant to be culled to life perhaps in some future age.
It was summer now, in the hot, sweltering gulf air of New Orleans that breeds tornadoes across the heartlands of america, Malaria awoke as Bettina, Gudrun and Manon melted a reunion of friendship into a reincarnation of music. This came on the heels of "Compiled" a collection of old Malaria songs released in summer on Moabit Records. On the banks of the Mississippi they recorded "Old Man River" (produced by Jim Thirlwell of Foetus fame, released on "Elation" EP). And while they recorded they explored the surrounding swamps and inner corners of New Orleans culture loosely plotting a return to Berlin to search the trail left so long ago. The results are captured forever, on "Cheerio", a compilation of love songs on Moabit Records, mature, floating, transcending, mellowed, having lived, living and moving like a river, power not to be measured by speed or the keeness of the eye. (Biography by M. Ford, taken from www.moabitmusik.de)

Weblinks:
Malaria! : http://www.moabitmusik.de/malaria.html
Malaria! @ MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/malariaberlin
Malaria! @ Discogs : http://www.discogs.com/artist/Malaria!
Bettina Köster : http://www.myspace.com/bettinakoster
Gudrun Gut : http://www.m-enterprise.de/gut.html
Matador : http://www.moabitmusik.de/matador.html
Moabit Musik : http://www.moabitmusik.de/
Asinella Records : http://asinellarecords.com/

dear visitor,

please consider: the shoutbox of this group is not a spambox.

you are always welcome to post informations or links to malaria!,
related bands or other artists from the german 80s underground scene.
but to leave links to non related topics (e.g. your own great band..)
seems a bit senseless and at the same time ignorant to me.
so please think about this before you do it...
and perhaps you will realise how ridiculous such a behaviour is.

thanks..;)

1	The Cure	8
2	Joy Division	6
3	Psychic TV	5
4	New Order	5
5	PJ Harvey	5
6	The Chemical Brothers	4
7	Arcade Fire	4
8	Depeche Mode	4
9	Throbbing Gristle	4
10	Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft	4

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surferrosa65

greie gut fraktion is another great gudrun gut project and should be connected! you can listen it in a full time way here...

August 2010
darkpassage

Thanks so much for your recommendations. I recognize many of them and have been tracking them down over time, and that includes the earily material of Mona Mur, which intrigues me. Thank you again so much for the links

August 2010
darkpassage

Bingo ! That's what I was looking for. Thank you ! ...and thanks for the mini description. I would have never known that about them. I saw Abwärts on kri-chi's lastfm.charts. Ich vermute, dass sie Conny Zadera ist ? So war ich neugierig, aber ich konnte nicht finden keine klare Beispiele ihrer Arbeit.

August 2010
darkpassage

I think that I have heard some songs by Geisterfaher that reflected the special earily industrial sound that seemed unique to Malaria. Are there other bands or songs that capture this sound. Any recommendations anyone ?

August 2010
darkpassage

I'm really glad to be in such a lovely Malaria site, with such a great collection of 80s' German underground bands, as well : )

August 2010
Stretchead

http://www.lastfm.de/group/monika+enterprise !

May 2010
asinellarecords

here's what Malaria's Bettina Koester is up to today: http://www.lastfm.de/music/+noredirect/Bettina+Koester

March 2010
ilyazver

electra100 , thats an understatement . Hi all .

March 2010
elektra100

yes, a great & very important band...

March 2010
unexpectedguest

Happy to join this great group

March 2010
surferrosa65

nice group!

March 2010