Combine the Victorious

Combine the Victorious formed in Vancouver in 2007, growing from a spirited collaboration between husband and wife: record producer/engineer Mark R Henning, formerly of Pure and Blisterene, and fashion designer Isabelle Dunlop.

Already independently successful in their chosen fields, their instinct for collaboration was soon realized on their debut full-length, The World Over. The record received both critical and popular praise, including inclusion on compilations as far afield as Toronto and the Czech Republic! Lead single, Blue Kitchen went on to become the theme song for the television series About A Girl - one of 8 songs licensed from the record.

Drawing upon this initial success, Combine the Victorious extended to found the wider Boutique Empire collective, gathering Sex With Strangers, Gilles Zolty, Guilty About Girls and other artists connected with the Vancouver scene.

Despite this wider commitment - Mark reuniting with Jordy Birch to form Guilty About Girls, and Isabelle singing with both Guilty About Girls and Sex With Strangers - Combine the Victorious continued to evolve.

Subsequent releases, Disagreements and Crumbling Hearts saw the band refining their musical identity, distilling to a powerful, evocative essence, perfectly captured on the standout track from the Crumbling Hearts, Glasgow, where sumptuous guitars weave in and out of Mark’s wily groove, a perfect backdrop for Isabelle’s melancholy lyric and heart-breaking melody.

Following a European tour as a duo to support the release of Crumbling Hearts, including showcases in Stockholm and London, Combine welcomed new members Justin “Juice” Kadis and Misty Reid, both formerly of the Yoko Casionos (Universal Music Canada).

Now formally a four-piece, the band looks forward to a full-length release in late-2013. Once again, we can expect Combine the Victorious to fuse elements of electronica, rock, dance and pop into a unique and compelling soundscape.