Love Is a Shield

The story behind

When you dive into *Love Is a Shield*, you encounter a key piece of German synth-pop that, despite its polished sound, has very concrete roots. The song, released in April 1989, was the first single from *Methods of Silence*, the second album by the trio Camouflage. The recording took place between November 1988 and January 1989, and was carried out at the Dynaton studio in Weiterstadt. The track has a duration of 4:42 in its album version, although a 3:59 edit also existed for the single. The composition of *Love Is a Shield* is a joint effort by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig, Peter Godwin, and Marcus Meyn. Alex Henniger, along with the band itself, was behind the production. The music video accompanying the song was directed by Rainer Thieding. As a B-side, *The Story of the Falling Fighters* was included. The album *Methods of Silence*, released in June 1989 by Atlantic Records, saw Camouflage establish a new studio, "Boys Factory 2", near their hometown, before entering Synsound Studio in Brussels. There, producer Dan Lacksman, known for his work with Telex, combined both modern and vintage technology to shape the album's sound, allowing the band greater creative freedom after their previous success. *Love Is a Shield* reached number 9 on the German singles charts, becoming Camouflage's most successful song at that point, and peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Alternative Airplay. The album, for its part, positioned itself at number 13 on the German album charts.