RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #219
There’s actually plenty of information out there about Belgian husband-and-wife group Bene Gesserit. I’d come across a few tracks before and was of course intrigued by the Dune-themed name. Alain Neffe and Nadine Bal also used aliases for this project – they were B. Ghola and Benedict G.. Neffe also had a multitude of other projects during the 80s since they were very active in the tape music scene, running the label Insane Music.
The first BG release was their Best of, released on Insane in 1981. It was a 9-track tape that had been preceded by a compilation called Insane Music For Insane People. Bene Gesserit appeared here with two tracks, alongside many other Neffe projects like Pseudo Code, Human Flesh, I Scream, Japanese Genius, Subject and Cortex.
Last year Paris-based label Camisole Records reissued Best of on vinyl along with 4 unreleased tracks. And if you’re curious to hear more, Stroom put out a compilation back in 2016 called An Introduction Into the Insane World of Alain Neffe. This one includes four Bene Gesserit tracks. The track ”Kidnapping” from Best of might be one of their best known and accessible tracks, after being included on the Platform 23 series Alternative Funk.
The members of Bene Gesserit are still active in music today. There’s a great interview with both Neffe and Bal here, as well as that really old Minimal Wave interview. They also feature a great Insane Music Self-Interview from 1981 over here. This extract about Throbbing Gristle is cool: ”When T.G. came along, I was not impressed at all, because I had experienced this style for years—I strongly believe I was not the only one. What now remains of ‘industrial music’ is rather poor and boring.”
