VNV Nation – “The right balance”

Industrial music CDs on eBay USA | eBay UK | eBay GER

19 Oct, 2005 Share

image
The new VNV Nation album “Matter and Form”, VNV Nation's fifth to date, was released in Europe on April 4th and in North America on April 12th. This time Ronan worked alongside German producer Humate aka Gerrit Frerichs who co-produced, engineered and mixed the album. Unexpectedly, the first single “Chrome” only was made available online. A strategy or what exactly? Instead of the usual story, Side-Line unraveled the real bits and pieces for you! And in the meantime we also dug up some inner thoughts from Ronan Harris, an ex-Side-Line editor. (By Bernard Van Isacker)

SL. What’s to become of futurepop if even the kings of futurepop desert the sound completely…


R. There was actually no point in doing that, after “Futureperfect” I was done with that sound and it really didn’t interest me anymore. It was also the fact that so many bands started to appear that sounded like that since “Empires” and I got tired of that sound very quickly. “Futureperfect” was my kinda ‘goodbye’ to that whole of trancy inspired vibe on the big hits. On the smaller songs I was trying different things and those didn’t get as much notice if you know what I mean.

SL. What did you learn from that experience?

R. (hesitates) I don’t know if I learned something… I knew that the next album would have a much higher standard. Writing an album on a laptop is easy, that’s what I learned (laughs)! It’s just that the technology that I wanted wasn’t really there. My songwriting also became a much more important part for me, and I say this without wanting to sound vain. With this album I have finally found the right balance. The music reflects now what VNV Nation is about.

SL. You needed some help…

R. During that process I was looking for a co-producer who could help me get that sound and I think I found the right one. But I have been writing these songs piece by piece over the last 3 years and the strange thing was that I came to the studio with 16 songs and I used 2 of them on the album, all the rest was written while I was in the studio. I was that inspired! So all in all making this album was a very unusual process for me.

SL. Does that explain why you had so many differences in between the songs? I mean some are really miles away from each other.

R. No, no! That was purely intentional. I wanted this album to have this sound and vibe. “Perpetual” for instance has a bit of indie in it, a bit of Interpol, a bit of eighties and seventies. That track was actually written right after I had finished “Futureperfect”. I never developed it any further until I arrived at the studio. When I got to the studio and I saw the possibilities I started rewriting what I had or simply started writing new things. The drum patterns for that song, which were 3 years old, also got a harder edge as well. Strangely enough it ended up being the last song we finished for this album. It was ready 3 hours before we had to upload it to the mastering studio! It was really deadline stuff… I wrote about 12 or 13 songs when I was there. I am amazed that I now had all that new material, so I guess I have to do another new album now (laughs)!

SL. How much of an influence was Gerrit Frerichs on it all then?


R. Gerrit, our producer, intervened in the mix and the overall sound, I gave him the finished songs and we would then discuss how the vocals would sound and how they would be recorded. But in the end he was the man I would tell how things had to sound. He then added his own details to things because that is his trademark. But it is the overall end sound that he created giving you this fill beautiful quality. Nevertheless it still sounds super clean.

(…)

To read the complete interview, be sure to buy Side-Line issue 53!

image Side-Line issue 53 at Side-Line shop
image VNV Nation CDs

Content Continues Below

Get your CDs at the following eBay sites:

eBay USA eBay België/Belgique
eBay UK eBay France
eBay DE eBay Nederland
eBay Canada eBay Australia
   

Industrial music CDs on eBay USA | eBay UK | eBay GER

108030 Share

Posted by: vnv on Oct 30, 05 | 1:48 am

ronan, release 'matter + form (part II)'

Posted by: yluko on Oct 26, 05 | 5:45 am

I want to hear the other 14 songs Ronan didn't use...

More headlines

Ayria returns with new 'Plastic Makes Perfect' album, 5 years after 'Hearts For Bullets'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/24/13

5 years after she released her 'Hearts For Bullets' album, Canada's most popular female fronted electropop / EBM export product Ayria is back with a new album. (...)

Ghost & Writer calls it quits

READ MORE | Posted on 05/24/13

Ghost & Writer, the belgo-german band consisting of Seabound's Frank Spinath and The Weathermen's Jean-Marc Lederman, responsible for a couple of very good and well received albums out on Dependent Records and Metropolis has apparently decided to call it a day. (...)

Metallica launches trailer 3D-film 'Through the Never'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

And now something really industrial. Metallica has launched a first trailer for the 3D-film 'Metallica - Through The Never' which is a mix of fiction and concert shootings. The film should be out in the cinema by fall of 2013. The plot: a groupie gets a mission during a Metallica concert and that mission will change his life forever. (...)

John Foxx releases 3 disc 'Metadelic' compilation featuring BBC sessions

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

'Metadelic' is a brand new three disc John Foxx compilation album (two CDs and a DVD) intended as a companion to 2010's 'Metatronic'. (...)

Cassette release for A New Life

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

A New Life, the new minimal synth wave project founded by Maurizio Pustianaz (Chain DLK Magazine), has a new release out, the cassette (!!) 'Fright Treasures'. (...)

Nouvelle Phenomene 'Caresse' 2-track single on Bandcamp

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

Nouvelle Phénomène, pop Noir newcomers from Budapest (Hungary), offer the brand new 2-track single 'Caresse'. (...)

More news

Soft Riot launches 2-track single 'Your Own Private Underworld'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

Noblesse Oblige return with rather juicy 'Mata Hari' video

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

Alkemic Generator joins Nilaihah Records and preps 2 new releases

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

80sObscurities presents: Danse Macabre - 'The Spirit of Bulgaria'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/23/13

Pet Shop Boys release Boys Noize remix 'Axis'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/22/13

Fraudulent Tsunami of asian likes hits Facebook band pages - and Facebook knows it

READ MORE | Posted on 05/22/13

Hurts goes 'Blind' on new single

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

New free single for Distorted Memory

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Swedish electro pop band Selected Area returns with 'Need You' single

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Electronic Saviors donates 10K to charity and announces 3rd volume charity compilation

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Dirk Ivens collaborates with Jenn Vix for 2-track single

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Miss FD releasing 3rd studio album 'Comfort for the Desolate' in mid-June

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Sonik Foundry remix contest - join in now

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

The Doors' keyboard player Ray Manzarek dead at 74

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Ex-Swarf member returns with Luuma project and first release, 'The Tessera E.P.'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

80sObscurities presents: Ruins - 'Fire'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

First Annual K.O.M.A. Festival to launch this summer in Oslo

READ MORE | Posted on 05/21/13

Morten Harket (A-ha) performs 'Take on me' on Billboard Music Awards

READ MORE | Posted on 05/20/13

Aesthetische launch free track for reaching 1000 fans on Facebook

READ MORE | Posted on 05/20/13

Sunday Times features house Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode) as 'Celebrity Home of the Week'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/19/13

Nine Inch Nails bassist Eric Avery quits band

READ MORE | Posted on 05/16/13

Leftfield returns with new material for the first time in 15 years

READ MORE | Posted on 05/16/13

Side-Line presents Peter Murphy in Belgium on 3/06, celebrating 35 years of Bauhaus

READ MORE | Posted on 05/16/13

Google launches streaming music service in US (to start with)

READ MORE | Posted on 05/16/13

Monophona, a trip-hop band you should check out - and here's how we discovered them

READ MORE | Posted on 05/15/13

Finish electrorock quintet Zarthas back with second album, 'Spit/Ignite'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/15/13

80sObscurities presents: Miko Mission - 'Two For Love'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/15/13

Siva Six strike further with 15-track EP 'Superstition'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/14/13

Cynical Existence returns with 6-track EP 'Beholder'

READ MORE | Posted on 05/14/13

Schwarzblut offers studio reports on new 2014 album via video

READ MORE | Posted on 05/14/13
READ MORE

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER

Receive our daily newsupdates in your mailbox :

 

Advertisers

RECOMMENDED MONEY MAKERS