Bureau B

VONO - Dinner Für 2

Bureau B present a reissue of Vonos debut album Dinner Für 2, originally released in 1982. Among the lesser known dark-electro/post-punk bands of the early 1980s, the Berlin duo Vono really stood out. The radical nature of their music, the cold sound and sparse lyrics -- Vono were arguably on a par with the more prominent ambassadors of the genres (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Liaisons Dangereuses, etc.). Extreme even for the early eighties, their minimalism was constructed purely on synthesizers and heavy on bass. With lyrics to match, their debut album Dinner Für 2 was unique. Auspicious beginnings for Vono back in 1982 offered no warning that the name would later fade into relative obscurity. Two brothers, Norbert and Volker Schultze, founded the project in the late seventies. They generated a substantial following in the cooler clubs of Berlin, playing a huge number of notoriously loud gigs. It was their producer Stephan Kaske who pointed them in the direction of legendary German label Sky Records (home to seminal albums by Cluster, Brian Eno, Michael Rother, Conrad Schnitzler, Asmus Tietchens, etc.). Kaske had released records of his own on the label, under the name of Mythos. Sales of Vonos debut album vastly exceeded expectations, to the satisfaction of the musicians and the label. Nevertheless, the brothers chose to embellish the sound of their sophomore work with guitar and drums, moving closer towards rock music. Given its consistently minimalist ethos, Dinner Für 2 is surprisingly varied. Dark and danceable electro-pop dominates, but spherical sounds and gentler moments are also there to be found. The songs are, for the most part, built on a framework of just one or two recurring bass patterns or melodies, coupled with lyrics which are barked rather than sung and delivered with Teutonic rolled R"s and exaggeratedly uttered final syllables. Some tracks have a rather Dadaistic flavor, featuring a single line like "Tief Im Dschungel Sitzt Ein Haifisch" (deep in the jungle, a shark lurks) or numbers shouted into the microphone, as on "Lottozahlen" (lottery numbers). An occasional instrumental track offers some light relief. What a shame that Vono did not stick to their radical concept. At least this gem of electronic music can now be presented to a wider audience." - Bureau B.

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After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.

This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).

Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.

Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.

Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
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