Most people associate the band Camouflage primarily with two radio hits from the 80s, ‘The Great Commandment’ and ‘Love is a Shield’ – but few people realise that Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn and Oliver Kreyssig can now look back on 30 years of band history and are one of the most influential synth bands in Germany alongside Alphaville and De/Vision.
The band was founded in 1983 in Bietigheim-Bissingen in Baden-Württemberg as a school band, initially under the name ‘Lizenenced Technology’. The first songs were recorded on cassette in the basement home studio of Maile’s parents’ house under the most primitive conditions. By chance, one of the self-distributed tape albums ended up winning a synthpop competition organised by radio station hr3.
If you haven’t seen Camouflage live yet, you really should, because the atmosphere at their gigs is unrivalled: the songs come on stage in lively synth and rock arrangements, the sound is fat and singer Marcus Meyn’s stage presence is simply breathtaking.