Von Zamla began as a quartet in 1981 with Swedish keyboardist/composer Lars Hollmer and guitarist Eino Haapala (both members of Zamla Mammaz Manna) along with two members of quirky French art pop musician Albert Marcoeur's ensemble, reedman Denis Brely and bassist Jan Garret. The quartet released Zamlaranama in 1981 and soon underwent a major lineup change, with Brely and Garret departing and Hollmer and Haapala continuing on in a sextet lineup also featuring Univers Zero bassoonist Michel Berckmans from Belgium and Munju bassist Wolfgang Salomon from Germany. This group toured heavily, traveling with a large array of instruments while living in a former passenger bus and releasing No Make Up! in 1983. Neither album was released outside of Europe, and after their tour in 1985, the group disbanded. In 1999 the Cuneiform label released the live album 1983, recorded at two dates while the band was on tour in Germany.