This cover reached out and grabbed me as I flipped through the used New Arrivals bin at St. Paul’s Agharta Records the other day. It’s truly arresting, the simple pink lettering overlaying the not-quite-avantgarde black-and-white photo of brothers Volker and Norbert Schultze (the band name is a combo of the first two letters of each of their names – VOlker and NOrbert). The image on the back is even more arresting with its double exposure and TV atop a small cherub statue. Anything this strange causes a visceral reaction for me, compelling me to look up the group and see what the hell this is all about, and in this case resulted in it coming home with me.
Originally released in 1982, Dinner Für 2 was Vono’s first album. Relying on nothing more than Volker’s Jupiter 8 and Norbert’s voice, Vono lean into the experimentalism of early 80s synth albums. The synth provides a basic beat, but Norbert’s vocal cadence also acts as its own instrument, his precise enunciation and intonation providing its own timing that compliments the electronics. As an example, “Tanzstunde” puts the most basic keys over a similarly simplistic beat, but Norbert transforms it into something entirely different with his direct and sharp cadence that gives off vibes that could equally be a fascist dictator’s speech or an exercise video instructor’s exhortations. An odd pair of possibilities, I know, but there it is. There’s also a quirky danceable quality to Dinner Für 2. These are hardly club bangers, but tracks like “Mit Mir Zum Siege” pick up the tempo a bit and the quicker pace definitely gets the feet moving.
Their sophomore effort, Modern Leben, came out a year later, and in just that short amount of time Vono had moved into a solidly new wave sound, abandoning their experimental direction in favor of something more commercially friendly. The musical palette is denser and Norbert’s delivery takes on a Devo-like quality. By the time 1986s It’s Time came out Vono completed its transformation into a synth-pop band, even introducing guitar into the mix. Which is too bad in a way, but also entirely understandable.
Bureau B re-released Dinner Für 2 for its 35th anniversary on both CD and vinyl, both of which are available on Bandcamp HERE.