In 1988, the band De/Vision still consisted of members Markus, Stefan, Steffen and Thomas. Puns and word jokes were order of the day. Statements in interviews that De/Vision has something to do with division, that they chose the letter 'D' to be found on the same CD shelf as Depeche Mode and the conclusion that 'Best of's' are rather subjective compilations, eventually lead to the album title 'Da * Mals (worst of)' with songs from the years 1988 - 1992.
As regards to the CD's contents, it's about the beginning of De/Vision, the first recordings of the band. In 1990, they ensconced themselves in a small living room, also called studio, close to Gießen to accept an all-inclusive offer for production of a vinyl maxi single. Songs like 'Your hands on my skin', 'Ignore me', 'You want to kill me' and the 'Skin mix' were results of this production. The vinyl is no longer available and only in the hands of a few fans. Their next visit to a studio was in 1991 - Stefan has already left the band - and this time it was more official because they went to the Atom-H Studio in Dusseldorf where 'Die Krupps' assisted them with the recordings. This all resulted in the songs 'Boy on the street', 'The scenery deludes', 'What we have to learn', 'Plight' as well as a real maxi version (it hardly exists anymore these days) of 'Boy on the street'. Without outside support, however, the song 'Always proved' was recorded in the year 1991.
In 1992, the band tested their luck in a studio near Munich. The result was the track 'Try to forget' in its original version. The label Synthetic Product Records was allowed to release such a 'Best of' compilation in 2007 at the earliest. Now in the times of a synthpop lull and to recall memories of the past, this CD will finally be released. Songs with structures, undistorted voice and undeniable: clearly played melodies. The sounds are not really important, but quite audible and orderly in
arrangement. For all those who always wanted to know how De/Vision started, to experience soft techno music (today it is called Old-School-Synthpop) of the early 90s, how De/Vision sounds without producer and why it was so difficult for De/Vision in their infancy, we recommend (but not only to those curious)
this release. The first responses to this album show that 'Da * Mals' is the fans' kind of thing - not only what the music expresses but also the band's humour.
