b 17 Camouflage

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.
Camouflage entered the synth pop game when most people had already moved on, which spelled trouble for their 1989 sophomore album. The total absence of acknowledged humor in Camouflage's material contrasted sharply with the vibrancy of the ensuing decade, and the album's widening addition of violins, saxophones, and guitars couldn't prevent the band from being forced into a prematurely outdated pigeonhole. In hindsight, this was the LP's biggest problem. "On Islands" and "One Fine Day" were sweet, multi-textured pop that swayed like a hammock strung between industrial pylons…

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.

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. Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn recorded their fourth album 'Bodega Bohemia' in the synthsound studio of Belgian producer and electro-pop pioneer Dan Lacksman. It was released on 26 April 1993. 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.

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. Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn recorded their fourth album 'Bodega Bohemia' in the synthsound studio of Belgian producer and electro-pop pioneer Dan Lacksman. It was released on 26 April 1993. 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.

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…

From a logical viewpoint "Sensor" was bound to be the electropop masterpiece that it is, given the patented "experimental" phase most bands go through before deciding to go back to what they do best. Following hit parade "Voices & Images" and the under rated follow-up "Methods of Silence" (perhaps due to the band including acoustic instrumentation) was "Meanwhile", an album few bothered with. And, granted, it sounded way too "ordinary" with its traditional rock setting and much of the Camouflage aura had gone missing. Oliver Kreyssig, who left the band after "Methods of Silence", decided to join the band again during the recording sessions for "Sensor", and it makes sense, as this new album shows a back-to-basics approach in terms of the song writing. The music, however, sounds remarkably fresh and modern. Maybe this was what Marcus and Heiko aimed at with "Bodega Bohemia", but didn't quite succeed with…