Playboy Camouflage

By the time of Spice Crackers' 1995 release, Camouflage found themselves dealing not only with changing times on the part of their key inspirations – Depeche Mode having long since grappled with rock motifs on albums like Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion – but with the shift from electronic pop being pop, to being a quieter concern amid the aboveground explosion of techno in Europe throughout that decade. Spice Crackers feels like a reaction to both changes in many ways, a chance for Camouflage to find their own identity as well as see how to roll with the times – and what's striking is how they predated some future developments elsewhere as a result. (It says something that the bass-heavy introduction "X-Ray" might have appeared on Depeche's Ultra, for instance, even though that album was two years away from release at that point.) There's a self-referentiality to the field that's almost amusing in its apparent po-facedness – calling one song "Kraft" and the one immediately after it "Electronic Music" is almost too much – but the exquisite instrumental "Ronda's Trigger," arguably the album's best song, celebrates things more effectively, a classic electronic dance number in the best way, propulsive and serene at the same time.

Founded in the southern German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig and Marcus Meyn in the year 1984, the band Camouflage scored an unexpected international hit with their debut album ‘Voices & Images’ in 1988. Their sophomore album ‘Methods Of Silence’, released just a year later, was an even bigger success. Songs like ‘The Great Commandment’ and ‘Love Is A Shield’, went on to become perennial classics of the synth pop genre. For the production of their third album ‘Meanwhile’ Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn (Oliver Kreyssig has left the band by then) were striking a new path. They recorded the songs with a band lineup with real drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. To mark the 30th anniversary of the album, the band opened up the archives to assemble a special bonus edition including a wealth of rare and unreleased recordings, limited to 500 triple LP sets and 1,500 double CDs.

The German synth-pop trio Camouflage was officially formed in 1984 by vocalist Marcus Meyn and keyboardists/programmers Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. The group took first place in a radio-sponsored song contest in 1986, and before long, their debut single, "The Great Commandment," was scaling the German charts. Their full-length debut, Voices and Images, was released in 1988, reflecting the group's classic new wave synth-pop influences, but most of all Depeche Mode. 1989's Methods of Silence began to broaden Camouflage's sonic palette, yet the Depeche Mode sound still remained at the forefront.

To mark the 30th anniversary of "Voices & Images", the album now earns a repackaged, limited edition reissue featuring deleted remixes, rare versions and B-sides.
When it was played on modern rock radio stations in 1988, Camouflage had everybody duped with "The Great Commandment." With its chilly synths, robotic percussion, and gloomy vocals, the song was a Depeche Mode doppelganger. Similarly, Camouflage's debut album Voices & Images is the sound of young men who couldn't stop playing Depeche Mode's Black Celebration in their tape decks. However, they are somewhat talented plagiarists…

There is no denying that the German band Camouflage clearly was inspired by Depeche Mode. Camouflage came out a few years after Depeche Mode was already making albums and like Depeche Mode, it went through many of the same transitions of sound and musical style. In fact, Camouflage and Depeche Mode sound so much alike that they are almost indistinguishable from one another. In a way, Camouflage can be thought of as the little brother of Depeche Mode. But there is no denying that Camouflage has talent and they can come up with some great songs.
And then there's Relocated. Along with their previous album Sensor, Camouflage has proven its greatness in the 21st century. Both Relocated and Sensor are incredible albums with pretty much no weak spots between the two of them. If you like Depeche Mode at all, you must get both of these albums.