VNV NATION + TINY MAGNETIC PETS – ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON 26.5.23
I’m 22 years old. I can safely say that I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to engross myself within many styles and cultures of music in some way, shape or form. Growing up, my dad would welcome me to the sounds of synthpop, namely Gary Numan and early Depeche Mode (‘Speak And Spell’ being the first album I remember listening to in full as a child…!). By the time I turned 8 or 9, he would eventually play the sounds of EBM and futurepop around the house while cooking; artists like Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk and Assemblage 23 were often on heavy rotation at the time, but an artist that was played more than most was VNV Nation. An Irish project masterminded by Ronan Harris, VNV Nation originally followed the industrial and EBM sounds of groups such as Front 242 and DAF before incorporating the strong synthpop melodies by the likes of OMD and Kraftwerk.
This year saw the release of Ronan’s 11th studio album under the VNV Nation moniker, ‘Electric Sun’, and an eventual four-date tour in the UK, commencing in Birmingham and finishing in Glasgow. The first London show since what Ronan prefers to call the last few years as “the dark times”, this was also my first VNV show in 10 years, last seeing them in Islington at the age of 12. Albums like 2011’s ‘Automatic’ and 2009’s ‘Of Faith, Power And Glory’, were personal favourites of mine from such a young age and finally seeing him live again after all this time reaffirmed just how special of a band VNV Nation is.
The early doors at London’s Electric Ballroom gave way to beautiful Tiny Magnetic Pets, a fellow Irish synthpop act that have joined VNV Nation on this tour. Welcomes from frontwoman Paula Gilmer graced the audience before the opening track ‘Automation’ commenced. A wonderful first exposure to the trio, the song felt very thunderous in its rudimentary, yet stunning synthesiser arrangements. The group’s stage presence felt equally raw but reminded one of the early days of groups like New Order and OMD (whom Tiny Magnetic Pets supported on their ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’ tour). Speaking of OMD, the following cut ‘We Shine’ evoked a sound of exactly that, with shimmering synth sequences and simple drum machine rhythms redolent of moments from their classic ‘Organisation’ record.
A real highlight of Tiny Magnetic Pets’ set was Paula’s wonderfully powerful vocals, which came into fruition quite prominently on ‘Not Giving In’, a song that carried a very cinematic atmosphere. The next track ‘French Cinema’ was a personal favourite of mine thanks to some gorgeous 8-bit arpeggios emanating from synth player Seán Quinn. This song also felt not too far away from a VNV Nation track in its melody writing, something that made me more excited for our beloved headliner. After the most dynamic vocal performances of the set on the track ‘Echoes’, we came to the final song in the form of ‘Semaphore’, a lengthy, but bittersweet highlight. Despite occasional feedback issues, Paula, Seán and drummer Eugene Somers still had visible looks of joy on their faces as the crowd swayed back and forth to the rhythm. A final “thank you” saw the trio depart after wishing the crowd as much enjoyment as possible for VNV Nation.
Tiny Magnetic Pets last concert here in Sussex took place last October, read our review HERE.
Tiny Magnetic Pets:
Paula Gilmer – vocals
Seán Quinn – synth and backing vox
Eugene Somers – drums
Tiny Magnetic Pets setlist:
‘Automation’
‘We Shine’
‘Not Giving In’
‘French Cinema’
‘Echoes’
‘Semaphore’
VNV Nation
The sounds of the background speakers start to permeate as I settle with my dad and his friends in the balcony, right at the back of the Ballroom, overseeing the eager crowd. As the ready-to-go flashlight shines from the stage technician, the lights go down and out of nowhere, we are welcomed to the heavy synth bass tone that opens ‘Before The Rain’, the main single from ‘Electric Sun’. The barely 5’7” Ronan Harris storms onto the stage with a bellowing “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!”. I can confidently say that hearing this track live confirmed my belief that it’s easily one of VNV’s best; it’s an incredible ode to how Ronan can still conjure up spectacular melodies and sounds after all this time. ‘Sentinel’ was the next track, one of my personal favourites of Ronan’s which I would play non-stop as a child! Its sharp rhythms and motivational lyrics hit a chord with me, a chord that evoked memories of my childhood in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a while. Ronan’s backing musicians, David (keys), André (keys) and Jan (drums), start propulsing themselves into more movement as we enter ‘Primary’, which was preluded with a cry from Ronan: “it’s gonna go harder!”. We kick almost immediately into the next song, ‘The Farthest Star’ from their 2007 album ‘Judgement’. Here, I felt enamoured by how serene Ronan’s voice can be on top of these heavy futurepop sounds. His stage presence, too, started to attain a sense of assertion towards the crowd, almost standing in place like a preacher looking over us.
‘When Is The Future?’ can be regarded as an anthem for our current climate of post-Covid, considering it came out two years before the pandemic. The crowd start to engage in more articulated sing-a-longs here, baffling Ronan before quizzing them in his heavy Dublin accent: “Those who haven’t been to a VNV show, where have you been?!”. After the sharp synth textures of ‘Matter + Form’ classic ‘Chrome’, came the ‘Electric Sun’ track, ‘Artifice’; this track, to my ears, felt the closest that VNV have come to a sound of dance music that aligns with today’s electronic world (the term ‘futurepop’ really does seem to be ahead of its time now, huh?), with a stellar build-up adorned with club rhythms. ‘Control’, a song from my personal favourite VNV album, ‘Automatic’, sees the crowd take a sharp elevation in volume with repeated call and response between themselves and Ronan with the lyric “I want control!”. The earliest release so far in the set, 2000’s ‘Further’, is a clear demonstration of how well Ronan’s voice has aged over the years, amplifying the state of euphoria that VNV songs often find themselves in, while he stands seemingly solemn on the stage for the majority of the song. The gentle ‘Homeward’ shifts dramatically towards the more propulsive and warm in tone, ‘God Of All’, off their 2018 album ‘Noire’, where Ronan continues to maintain a level of friendly dominance towards the audience!
Naturally, a fair few songs in the setlist were going to stem from ‘Electric Sun’ and hearing ‘Invictus’ live really made me question the last few years of silence from VNV Nation; it really hadn’t felt like five years since the last release! This track is motivational and anthemic, everything a good VNV Nation song should be, with Ronan putting so much power into every single word. We transition seamlessly into Immersed, a song that sounds infinitely better live than it did on ‘Noire’, with a heavier emphasis on trance music and pulsing synthesisers – definitively mechanical. One incredible highlight came in the form of ‘Resolution’, an all-time favourite VNV song for me, with an ear-candy chord progression and fantastically sequenced synths. The live tradition of an interpolation of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin” remains intact here, just as it did when I last saw them 10 years ago; cue Ronan’s statement as the song closes: “What’s a life without fun and laughter if it’s not worth living?”. The one-two punch of ‘Electric Sun’ songs ‘Prophet’ and ‘Wait’ close the main set, with the former featuring some of Ronan’s strongest vocal performances of the night before interrogating the balcony for not dancing as much as possible during the latter!
In 2007, 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster was attacked by a group of teens and subsequently died from her injuries; her death struck a chord with Ronan due to the primary motive for her attack being because she embraced the goth subculture, being different, and standing out from the crowd. ‘Illusion’, the first song of the encore was traditionally dedicated to her memory, and to all those who ever felt rejected for being themselves. The song was an emotional high-point of the night, something that clearly affected Ronan as almost seemed to break down in tears by the end of the song. 1998’s ‘Solitary’, the oldest song in the show’s set, was introduced by Ronan: “if you don’t know this song, I don’t give a shit… this is for the people who have been there since the beginning!”. The song plays to their early trance sound’s strengths and can be seen as a testament to the sound of EBM in the 90s. This is followed by another early VNV classic, ‘Darkangel’, which was interspersed with Ronan’s cry of “Take the roof off the place!”.
The final three songs of the night hit so many emotional and nostalgic spots for me: first came ‘Automatic’ track ‘Nova (Shine A Light On Me)’, one of the most poignant melodies of any VNV Nation song and the loudest the crowd have ever sung all night! Next came ‘Beloved’, a track that, while is now over 20 years old at this point, has not lost any beauty with its immaculate chorus and Ronan standing to attention in the middle of the stage under the lights, like a god. With the final cut, ‘All Our Sins’, drummer Jan is presented with two huge floor toms, the only non-electronic drums to feature in the show all night. The song itself is incredibly dark in tone and cinematic in scope, before ascending to a huge and startling climax, eventually giving way to a palate of synth strings to close the night…
“Holy shit, people. Thank you. I don’t know what words to use. ‘Cos, you don’t have to scream, I look in everyone’s faces, you guys are my entertainment. It’s what fills my heart. Look after each other, because we have only got each other.” – Ronan’s message to the audience before exiting the stage in emotional bewilderment.
I feel honoured to have been able to close the ten-year gap since I last saw VNV Nation live; Ronan and his music have touched my heart and soul in a multitude of ways, and remains to be an important link to my childhood. After 33 years as a functioning musical unit, VNV Nation continues their cult status as a hidden gem in the multi-faceted and ever-shifting sphere of electronic music.
VNV Nation:
Ronan – vocals
David – keys
André – keys
Jan – drums
VNV Nation setlist:
‘Before The Rain’ (from 2023’s ‘Electric Sun’)
‘Sentinel’ (from 2013’s ‘Transnational’)
‘Primary’ (from 2009’s ‘Of Faith, Power And Glory’)
‘The Farthest Star’ (from 2007’s ‘Judgement’)
‘When Is The Future?’ (from 2018’s ‘Noire’)
‘Chrome’ (from 2005’s ‘Matter + Form’)
‘Artifice’ (from 2023’s ‘Electric Sun’)
‘Control’ (from 2011’s ‘Automatic’)
‘Further’ (from 2000’s ‘Burning Empires’)
‘Homeward’ (from 2005’s ‘Matter + Form’)
‘God Of All’ (from 2018’s ‘Noire’)
‘Invictus’ (from 2023’s’ ‘Electric Sun’)
‘Immersed’ (from 2018’s ‘Noire’)
‘Resolution’ (from 2011’s ‘Automatic’)
‘Prophet’ (from 2023’s ‘Electric Sun’)
‘Wait’ (from 2023’s ‘Electric Sun’)
(encore)
‘Illusion’ (from 2007’s ‘Judgement’)
‘Solitary’ (from 1998’s ‘Praise The Fallen’)
‘Darkangel’ (from 1999’s ‘Empires’)
‘Nova (Shine A Light On Me)’ (from 2011’s ‘Automatic’)
‘Beloved’ (from 2002’s ‘Futureperfect’)
‘All Our Sins’ (from 2018’s ‘Noire’)
