Camouflage announce ‘Spice Crackers (30th Anniversary Edition)’ 2LP for January 9, 2026 via Bureau B
Camouflage - 'Spice Crackers (30th Anniversary Edition)' 2LP
Audioglobe announces that German synth-pop trio Camouflage will issue the “Spice Crackers (30th Anniversary Edition)” as a limited 2LP on black vinyl through Bureau B on January 9, 2026. The album was originally released in 1995 and arrives on vinyl for the first time.
Recording of ‘Spice Crackers’
“Spice Crackers” is Camouflage’s fifth studio album, released on 11 September 1995 by BMG/RCA (Germany). A remastered edition appeared on 28 August 2009 via Bureau B. The record followed a new deal with BMG Germany that gave the band wide creative latitude. Material and ideas from a halted opera project flowed into the album, pushing the group toward more experimental, sometimes sci-fi-tinged pieces alongside electropop tracks.
Sessions ran from October 1994 into 1995 at The House of Mr. Mendoza (Hamburg). Heiko Maile produced, with additional production by Stephan Fischer.
“On our previous productions, we started out with just a few songs, worked on these as demos and then went to an external studio to completely re-record them with a producer. Having the idea to produce an album in our own studio, thus giving us more time to experiment, basically wanting to do the whole thing differently, was the beginning of an interminable recording session,” says Heiko Maile, producer and founding member, about the recording process of “Spice Crackers”.
And he adds: “Once we got going, surrounded by synthesizers, drum machines, guitars, microphones, a mammoth analogue mixing desk and a few pieces of recording equipment, we simply taped everything that came into our heads. Only a few of these tracks—I’m deliberately refraining from calling them songs—ended up on the original CD. It was a very formative and inspiring time for us in terms of album production.”
The album mixes song-based synth-pop (“Bad News,” “X-Ray”) with instrumental or semi-instrumental cues and interludes (e.g., “Zwischenspiel 2”). Two singles were issued: “Bad News” (Aug 1995) – with single edit, album version, and a Tranceformer remix plus a video was also produced.
Next was “X-Ray” (early 1996) – issued with Tranceformer, Soft Single, and Ronda Ray mixes; a video accompanied the release as well.
The commercial impact of the album was limited which led to Camouflage pausing its activities before returning with “Sensor” in 2003.
About Camouflage
Camouflage formed in 1983 in Bietigheim-Bissingen, West Germany, with Marcus Meyn (vocals), Heiko Maile (keyboards/production), and Oliver Kreyssig (keyboards).
Their early demos led to a deal with Metronome; in the U.S. the releases appeared via Atlantic. The debut “Voices & Images” (1988) produced “The Great Commandment,” which reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart.
“Methods of Silence” (1989) yielded “Love Is a Shield” and reached No. 13 in Germany. Kreyssig left in 1990. “Meanwhile” (1991) followed, then “Bodega Bohemia” (1993). A new BMG Germany/RCA deal preceded “Spice Crackers” (1995), an experimental studio project produced by Maile; singles included “Bad News” and “X-Ray.”
The band regrouped as a trio in 1999 and they continued to release several more albums: “Sensor” (2003, Island/Polydor), “Relocated” (2006, Synthetic Symphony/SPV), and “Greyscale” (2015, Bureau B). Camouflage’s current lineup comprises Meyn, Maile, and Kreyssig.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
