Camouflage is a German synth-pop trio consisting of lead singer Marcus Meyn (b. May 2, 1966), Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. Their only Billboard Hot 100 hit was "The Great Commandment", which reached No. 59 in early 1989, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart. They also had two minor dance hits in 1989.
History
In 1983, Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn, Oliver Kreyssig, and Martin Kähling, four friends from Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, formed the band Licensed Technology. It was short lived, as Martin Kähling left in 1984. Soon after, the remaining three members renamed themselves "Camouflage", inspired by a Yellow Magic Orchestra song of the same name. The three young musicians set up their first studio in the basement of Heiko's parents' house, calling it "Boy's Factory". Their first live gigs at local music clubs soon followed. In 1985, Camouflage recorded two demo tapes at their studio, and the following year, the group won a local radio music contest, after a friend of theirs handed one of the demos in. A small Frankfurt music label, "Westside", showed interest in taking Camouflage on. There, the song "The Great Commandment" was recorded to be presented to bigger music companies. After considering offers from several record companies, Camouflage decided to sign a contract with Metronome.
Voices & Images, Methods of Silence (1987–1989) Working with Axel Henninger, Camouflage re-recorded "The Great Commandment" in Axel's studio in 1987. The single was released in September of that year and rose to number 14 in the German charts. Their follow-up single "Strangers' Thoughts" was released in February 1988, rising to number 20. In March, Voices & Images, Camouflage's debut album, was released. The album topped the US Billboard Dance Charts twice having been played often by small independent radio stations. In New York, Heiko, Oli and Marcus signed a contract with the US label Atlantic that same year, releasing Voices & Images and the single "That Smiling Face" for the US market in the fall of 1988. In an old factory loft near their hometown, Heiko, Oli and Marcus set up "Boy's Factory 2", their new studio.
With producer Dan Lacksman of Telex, the band recorded a new album Methods of Silence at Synsound Studio in Brussels that following year. Now left to experiment more freely after the commercial success of their first album, Dan's recording work revealed an interesting mix of digital high-tech and out-dated studio equipment. The single "Love is a Shield" (No. 9 in German charts) stayed in the charts for over six months, and the album reached 13. After follow-up single "One Fine Day", the band embarked on their first live concert tour to great financial success. At the beginning of 1990, Oliver Kreyssig left the band for personal reasons.
Meanwhile, Areu Areu, Bodega Bohemia (1991–1993) In October, Heiko and Marcus began work on the third album Meanwhile at the Black Barn Studio in England with producer Colin Thurston (who worked with Duran Duran, David Bowie and Talk Talk). Taking a different path, this album included real drums and conventional musical instruments played by guest musicians. The first single "Heaven (I Want You)" was released in Germany and the U.S., reaching 57 in their home country. Three months after their second German tour commenced, they released the album's second single, the double-A sided "This Day/Handsome."
In a 1995 interview, Marcus said "Naturally we would have preferred that things had gone differently. But it was our wish at the time to make this type of record. For that reason the situation was perfectly OK for us. Looking back today, we would have liked to have had better advice at the time, recommending against this drastic stylistic change in our music. But things went the way they did...."
After relocating to Hamburg in 1992, the duo founded their own music publishing company and studio, which saw the release of side project Areu Areu. During this time, they also began recording work for their fourth album. The goal with this album was to incorporate as many electronic influences as possible into their work. Their 1993 lead single "Suspicious Love" received radio air time and got rotation play on MTV, although it made only a minor chart placement. For this, the band faulted its record company Metronome for eschewing the band over other clients such as Ace of Base. As a result, Bodega Bohemia and the follow-on singles "Close (We Stroke the Flames)" and "Jealousy" were only released in Germany.