VNV Nation
Encyclopedia
VNV Nation are a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

/Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 band originally from Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and now based in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. They combine elements of electro-industrial
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups,...

, trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

, synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 and electronic body music
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...

 (EBM). The members are Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris is a member of the act VNV Nation, along with Mark Jackson. For live shows the band are joined by 2 keyboard players. Ronan is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical, and vocal aspects of the band's music...

 and Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson (musician)
Mark Jackson is a member of futurepop duo VNV Nation, along with Ronan Harris. He is responsible for electronic drums, percussion and live keyboards. He is also established as a professional Club DJ and remix artist....

. The "VNV" in the name stands for Victory not Vengeance, in keeping with the group's motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

, "One should strive to achieve, not sit in bitter regret."

History

The group's first album, Advance and Follow
Advance and Follow
Advance and Follow is the first full-length album by futurepop artists VNV Nation, released in 1995. It is commonly abbreviated as A&F. Compared to the futurepop sound of their subsequent albums Advance and Follow has a middle era EBM sound with classical influences...

, was released in 1995. This was a mixture of danceable synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 melodies and harsh electronic beats firmly in the tradition of middle-era EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...

, supplemented with elements of orchestral music
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

. Their next release, 1998's Praise the Fallen
Praise the Fallen
-Notes:* “PTF2012” can be seen as a reference to the Mayan Calendar doomsday, 21 December 2012. Although in the booklet for Reformation 1 Ronan Harris states that the date was chosen at random.* “Schweigeminute” is a one-minute silence...

, continued largely in this vein, and they began to enjoy a larger degree of commercial success.

During that time Harris also wrote for Side-Line Magazine
Side-Line
Side-Line is an online music magazine specialising in electronic music, and electro-goth/industrial in particular. It was founded in 1989 as a print publication, and had a circulation of 6,000 in Europe and America...

 of which he was the webmaster until 1999.

Empires (1999)

1999's Empires was their breakthrough album, gaining them widespread commercial success (topping the German DAC charts for seven weeks) and increasing the visibility of the genre. While in the vein of their previous two works, Empires expanded the bombastic synthesizer lines and incorporated tighter song organization with verses and catchy choruses. Furthermore, the harsher 'sheet metal instrumentals' of albums like Praise the Fallen were largely gone, and the music as a whole was far more complex with multiple-layered arpeggios and pads. This album was composed using only one synthesizer (the popular Access Virus
Access Virus
The Access Virus is a virtual analog synthesizer made by the German company Access Music GmbH. It was first produced in 1997 and has since been upgraded frequently, with the company releasing new models about every two years. Early models include the Virus A, Virus B, and Virus C series, each...

) and two (rather low-quality) samplers.

Futureperfect (2002)

Their 2002 album, Futureperfect
Futureperfect
Futureperfect is the fourth full-length album by futurepop band VNV Nation. It was released in Europe on January 28, 2002 and on March 5, 2002 in the United States. It was the first VNV Nation release to be created/produced entirely using software synthesizers."Genesis" and "Beloved" were released...

, while retaining many Industrial elements represented a departure in many ways, largely away from EBM and towards synthpop, even incorporating some elements of trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

. Furthermore, some neoclassical instrumental pieces were included in the album. This shift caused their mainstream popularity to increase still further, but alienated some of their fans who preferred their earlier harsher and darker sound, leading to a somewhat weakened reputation in the "underground" music community. Nonetheless, they embarked on several highly successful world tours in 2002 and 2003. Notably, the album was produced using mainly software synthesizers instead of hardware synthesizers. Some hardware was used, but the majority of instruments used were software programs.

Matter + Form (2005)

Their 2005 album, Matter + Form
Matter + Form
Matter+Form is the fifth full-length album by futurepop artists VNV Nation. It was co-engineered by German trance DJ Humate and released on April 12, 2005. "Chrome" was released as a one-track single on 7 March.-Track listing:...

, expanded on the soundscape established with Futureperfect while also adding a harder and more mechanical sound in some songs. Notable for this harder-edged sound was the first single Chrome. Also of note is the lack of effects applied to the vocals, a departure from previous albums, which allows Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris is a member of the act VNV Nation, along with Mark Jackson. For live shows the band are joined by 2 keyboard players. Ronan is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical, and vocal aspects of the band's music...

' voice more space in the mix. Of course, there were also several songs with a softer and more pensive theme. Some songs even had a slight "rock" feeling to them, mostly with how drum sequences and bass-lines were arranged, the most obvious being the album-closing song Perpetual. The instrument assortment used in the production was much expanded upon from previous albums and everything from the Access Virus to a custom-made analog modular synthesizer and several software synthesizers were used. This album was also the first time the band used an outside producer.

Judgement (2007)

VNV Nation's next studio album was Judgement
Judgement (VNV Nation album)
Judgement is an album by VNV Nation, released on April 6, 2007 in the UK and on April 10, 2007 in the US. The album hit #865 on the Top Heatseekers chart...

, released to the world on 4 April 2007. Containing 10 tracks, it continued the evolution of the VNV Nation sound.

On 25 April 2007 at the sold-out show at The Metro in Chicago, Ronan Harris has stated that the rumors about Judgement being the last album were false and that more was to come and that Judgement was just the beginning.

At the alternative electronic music festival Infest
Infest (festival)
Infest is an annual three day music festival held at the University of Bradford Union in the United Kingdom, featuring alternative electronic music acts from genres including industrial, EBM, futurepop, synthpop and power noise...

 in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

 on 26 August 2007, just after the murder of Sophie Lancaster
Murder of Sophie Lancaster
The Murder of Sophie Lancaster was a murder case in the United Kingdom in 2007. The victim, along with her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, was attacked by a number of males in their mid-teens while walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Rossendale in Lancashire. As a result of her severe head injuries...

, Harris dedicated the song "Illusion" to her and contacted the family soon afterwards to offer his condolences.

Reformation 1 (2009)

Two years after "Judgement", the box set Reformation 1 was released in Europe on 24 April 2009. US release on 12 May.

Of Faith, Power and Glory (2009)

The next album, Of Faith, Power and Glory
Of Faith, Power and Glory
-Charts:...

was mentioned on the band's MySpace blog. Harris confirmed to Side-Line Magazine that they were aiming for late April to release the album, which would be titled "Of Faith, Power and Glory", or as Harris described it: "The 3 things that people desire and which can make you or destroy you!".
Due to the release of "Reformation 1" in mid April, the release of the album was postponed to June 2009, and the album was released in the U.S. on CD and in the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

 on June 23, 2009. It was released in Europe on 19 June 2009.

Crossing The Divide / Automatic (2010-2011)

A new remix album called Crossing The Divide was to be released on 8 June 2010, but it has since been delayed for an unknown period of time. The update on the official website cites unforeseen circumstances for the delay, but have promised that additional tracks will be added.

There were plans for a number of extended and enhanced re-releases of previous albums in 2010 "with lots of extras" as well, however, these also appear to have been caught up in the Crossing The Divide delays.

On September 16th, 2011 VNV Nation's newest studio album Automatic, was released for most of Europe, with a physical CD released on October 25th, 2011 in the United States. It has been announced that the Crossing The Divide EP will be made available for free due to the delays.

Audio samples

Studio albums

  • Advance and Follow
    Advance and Follow
    Advance and Follow is the first full-length album by futurepop artists VNV Nation, released in 1995. It is commonly abbreviated as A&F. Compared to the futurepop sound of their subsequent albums Advance and Follow has a middle era EBM sound with classical influences...

    – (CD Album) 1995 – Energy Rekords
  • Praise the Fallen
    Praise the Fallen
    -Notes:* “PTF2012” can be seen as a reference to the Mayan Calendar doomsday, 21 December 2012. Although in the booklet for Reformation 1 Ronan Harris states that the date was chosen at random.* “Schweigeminute” is a one-minute silence...

    – (CD Album) 1998 – Energy Rekords, Off Beat • (CD Album) 1999 – Wax Trax!, TVT Records • (CD Album) 2000 – Metropolis
  • Empires
    Empires (VNV Nation album)
    -External links:* * [ AMG Review]...

    – (CD Album) 1999 – Metropolis, Energy Rekords, Dependent Records • (CD Album) 2000 – Metropolis
  • Futureperfect
    Futureperfect
    Futureperfect is the fourth full-length album by futurepop band VNV Nation. It was released in Europe on January 28, 2002 and on March 5, 2002 in the United States. It was the first VNV Nation release to be created/produced entirely using software synthesizers."Genesis" and "Beloved" were released...

    – (CD Album) 2002 – Dependent Records, Metropolis, Energy Rekords
  • Matter + Form
    Matter + Form
    Matter+Form is the fifth full-length album by futurepop artists VNV Nation. It was co-engineered by German trance DJ Humate and released on April 12, 2005. "Chrome" was released as a one-track single on 7 March.-Track listing:...

    – (CD Album) 2005 – Anachron Sounds, Metropolis, SubSpace Communications
  • Judgement
    Judgement (VNV Nation album)
    Judgement is an album by VNV Nation, released on April 6, 2007 in the UK and on April 10, 2007 in the US. The album hit #865 on the Top Heatseekers chart...

    – (CD Album) 2007 – Anachron Sounds, Metropolis, SubSpace Communications • (CD, Promo, Enhanced) 2007 – Anachron Sounds • (CD, Promo) 2007 – Anachron Sounds, SubSpace Communications
  • Of Faith, Power and Glory
    Of Faith, Power and Glory
    -Charts:...

    – (CD Album) 2009
  • Automatic – (CD Album) 2011

Singles and EPs

  • Body Pulse – (12") 1990 – no label
  • Strength of Youth – (12") 1990 – no label
  • Solitary EP – (CD EP) 1998 – Energy Rekord, Off Beat • (CD EP) 1999 – Dependent Records
  • Darkangel – (CD Maxi) 1999 – Dependent Records • (AAC File) 1999 – Metropolis
  • Burning Empires/Standing
    Burning Empires
    Burning Empires is an EP from VNV Nation. It contains remixes and alternate versions of tracks from their popular album Empires, plus the "Standing" single. It is a limited edition release of 4,700 copies. Because of its rarity, it is one of the most sought-after items for VNV Nation fans...

    – (2xCD, Ltd Edition [4700 copies]) 2000 – Dependent Records • (AAC File) 2006 – Metropolis
  • Advance and Follow (v2) – (CD Album, Remastered, Reissue) 2001 – Dependent Records • (AAC File) 2006 – Metropolis
  • Cold – (R rated mig 29 Mix by DJ Kowalski) – (MP3 File) 2001 – no label
  • Standing – (CD Maxi) 2000 – Metropolis, Dependent Records
  • Genesis – (CD Maxi) 2001 – Dependent Records, Metropolis
  • Beloved – (CD Maxi) 2002 – Dependent Records • (AAC File) 2006 – Metropolis
  • Honour 2003 – (CD Maxi, Enhanced) 2003 – Anachron Sounds • (AAC File) 2003 – Metropolis
  • Chrome – (CD, Promo, MP3 File) 2005 – Anachron Sounds, Metropolis, SubSpace Communications • (CDr, Promo) 2005 – SubSpace
  • Crossing the Divide – (Remix Album) 2011 – Anachron Sounds

Box sets

  • Pastperfect – (2xDVD + CD-ROM Special Edition) 2004 – Anachron Sounds, Metropolis • (2xDVD) 2004 – Anachron Sounds
  • Reformation 1 – (2xCD + DVD) 2009


Remixes

As of 2011, VNV Nation has remixed the songs of 24 artists.
  • !Aiboforcen - "E.W.I.F"
  • :Wumpscut: - "Totmacher"
  • AFI
    AFI (band)
    AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...

     - "Miss Murder
    Miss Murder
    "Miss Murder" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was released on April 3, 2006 as the lead single from their seventh studio album Decemberunderground. It was initially scheduled to premiere on LIVE 105 on April 13, 2006, however, it was released early due to overwhelming fan reaction. It was...

    "
  • Apoptygma Berzerk
    Apoptygma Berzerk
    Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as "futurepop". Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia...

     - "Kathy's Song (Come Lie Next to Me)"
  • Bio-Tek - "Die-Sect"
  • Boytronic
    Boytronic
    Boytronic is a German music group that plays electropop. It was founded in 1983 by Holger Wobker and Peter Sawatzki in Hamburg, Germany as Kapitän Sehnsucht . The original Boytronic released two synthpop albums: "The Working Model" and "The Continental"...

     - "Living Without You"
  • Claire Voyant
    Claire Voyant
    Claire Voyant is a dream pop, darkwave, ethereal wave band from Sacramento, California. The trio were once part of a 5-piece band called Murmur, which split over creative differences...

     - "Majesty"
  • Combichrist
    CombiChrist
    Combichrist is a Norwegian Aggrotech band formed in 2003 by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua based in Atlanta.-Formation:The first material LaPlegua wrote was a few powernoise/techno crossover tracks under the moniker DRIVE...

     - "All Pain is Gone
    Heat EP: All Pain Is Beat
    -External links:**...

    "
  • D.A.F. - "Der Sheriff"
  • Das Ich
    Das Ich
    Das Ich is a German electronic music group formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" a musical movement in the early 1990s...

     - "Destillat"
  • Deine Lakaien
    Deine Lakaien
    Deine Lakaien is a German Darkwave group composed of Macedonian vocalist Alexander Veljanov and the classically trained composer, pianist and drummer Ernst Horn.- History :...

     - "Where You Are"
  • De/Vision
    De/Vision
    De/Vision is a German synthpop musical group. The band started as a quartet consisting of Thomas Adam, Steffen Keth, Stefan Blender, and Markus Ganssert. They formed the band in 1988. The name De/Vision is a play on words. The majority of the band's lyrics are in English, but they have had some...

     - "I Regret"
  • In Strict Confidence
    In Strict Confidence
    In Strict Confidence is a German electro-industrial band. Formed in 1989/1990, they were known as Seal of Secrecy until 1992. In Strict Confidence has been signed to several record labels, including Metropolis Records and WTII Records.-History:...

     - "Industrial Love"
  • Ironbase - "Maschine Eisenbass Rockt"
  • Joachim Witt
    Joachim Witt
    Joachim Witt is a German musician and actor.- Life and work :Joachim Witt became a major star of the German pop scene during the eighties with huge hits such as "Der Goldene Reiter"...

     - "Wo Versteckt Sich Gott?"
  • Lights of Euphoria
    Lights of Euphoria
    Lights of Euphoria is a music group from Germany. The group was originally intended as a single song project, but remained together after the success of their first song, "Subjection".-Discography:* Violent World * Brainstorm...

     - "True Life"
  • Mindless Self Indulgence
    Mindless Self Indulgence
    Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...

     - "Shut Me Up", "What Do They Know"
  • Phillip Boa
    Phillip Boa
    Phillip Boa is a German independent music singer, guitarist and composer.-Music:In 1985, he founded the Independent band Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub...

     - "So What"
  • Project Pitchfork
    Project Pitchfork
    Project Pitchfork is an electronic musical group from Hamburg, Germany.-History:Project Pitchfork was formed by Peter Spilles and Dirk Scheuber. Having agreed to work together, they then picked the project's name by picking a word at random from the dictionary. The demo K.N.K.A. was recorded...

     - "Existence"
  • Ravelab - "Push"
  • Revolution By Night
    Revolution By Night
    Revolution By Night are an electronic music band based in London, UK. They are often referred to as 'RBN'. The only continuous members are founding member Steve Weeks and Bryon Adamson, with Phil Eaton joining in 2006- Revolution By Night Mk 1 - 1994 to 1999 :The original Revolution By Night...

     - "Faithless"
  • Suicide Commando
    Suicide Commando
    Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial act created by Johan van Roy in 1986.- History :Johan van Roy, Suicide Commando's only member, began experimenting with electronic music in 1986. Three years later he released his first tape under the moniker Suicide Commando, and made an appearance...

     - "Hellraiser"
  • Theatre of Tragedy
    Theatre of Tragedy
    Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.-Biography:...

     - "Machine"
  • Within Temptation
    Within Temptation
    Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...

     - "Sinéad
    Sinéad (Within Temptation song)
    "Sinéad" is the second single from Within Temptation's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, released on 15 July 2011.. Its release was announced alongside the unveiling of its artwork on 15 April 2011...

    "

External links

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