VNV Nation

VNV Nation is an electronic music group formed in London in 1990 and now based in Hamburg. The group is active from 1990 to the present and is made up of Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson. It works across EBM, electronic, futurepop, pop, synth-pop and trance.

Style and approach

VNV Nation combines trance, synthpop and electronic body music into a style it calls futurepop. Its music ranges from dance-oriented electronic tracks to ballads and classically inspired pieces. The project draws on underground club culture, industrial music, trance and classical music. Its lyrics refer to philosophy, religion, literature, art, politics and symbolism, while the project presents itself as a form of expression rather than an ideology. The letters VNV stand for “Victory Not Vengeance”.

Ronan Harris begins the project as a solo one-man act. Mark Jackson joins permanently in 1995 as a live drummer and later leaves in 2017.

Early releases and record labels

The first VNV Nation releases appear in 1990 as the self-produced vinyl records Body Pulse and Strength of Youth. After Harris works on tracks in Toronto, supports Nitzer Ebb on tour, and returns to London, sampler CD releases attract the German label Discordia. The single Advance and Follow appears in 1995.

In 1998 the group signs to Off Beat Records and releases the album Praise the Fallen and the Solitary EP. When Off Beat collapses in 1999, VNV Nation works with Stefan Herwig and other artists to create Dependent Records. The group later sets up its own label, Anachron Records, after parting with Dependent following the release of Beloved. The verified label names associated with the group are Anachron Sounds and Anachron America.

Albums, EPs and notable chart success

Empires is released in late 1999 and spends seven weeks at number one in the German Alternative Chart, winning DAC Album of the Year. Two singles follow: Darkangel, which tops the DAC for five weeks, and Standing, which stays at number one for eight weeks and wins a German Alternative Music Award for most successful single of 2000. A limited edition of Standing / Burning Empires collects alternate versions and remixes and becomes a sought-after rarity.

Advance and Follow v2 appears in 2001 as a remastered and partly re-recorded version of the 1995 release. Futureperfect follows in 2002, reaching number 25 in the German Album Charts, with Beloved reaching number 60 in the German Singles Chart. The Honour 2003 EP is released in 2003, supporting the live DVD Pastperfect, which appears in 2004. The album Matter and Form follows in 2005, and Chrome is sold as a download before the album release. Judgement is released in 2007.

Later activity

In 2009 the group announces plans for the delayed Reformation EP in CD pack form and a new album, Of Faith, Power and Glory.