VNV Nation

by Jason Ankeny
The electronic project VNV ("Victory Not Vengeance") Nation was conceived in London in 1990 by Ronan Harris, debuting in May of that year with the 12-inch "Body Pulse." "Strength of Youth" followed a few months later, and at the end of the year Harris relocated to Toronto, where VNV Nation opened for Nitzer Ebb on their Canadian tour. After moving back to Europe, Harris released only a handful of compilation tracks in the years to follow before signing with the German label Discordia in 1995 to issue the full-length Advance and Follow. Three years later, VNV Nation resurfaced on another German label, Off-Beat, an alliance which generated the LP Praise the Fallen as well as the EP Solitary. Empires, which was issued with another European distributor Dependent, and on Metropolis in the U.S., followed in the spring of 2000. Singles such as "Standing" and "Dark Angel" were club mainstays, boasting Ronan Harris' love for pulsating club rhythms and his developing seascapes of dark ambient waves. Mix projects Genesis.1 and Genesis.2 followed that format in 2001, giving a sneak preview to VNV Nation's Futureperfect.