Virtual Alien

Nick Peterson came up with the concept for his dark electronic one-man band Virtual Alien at the tender age of 14. Born in 1973, he unleashed his dark debut, War of Love, in 1988 but was hit by a cab in London a year later, went into a coma, and wasn't able to leave the hospital for four months. He returned to recording in 1990 and released King of the World, an album that commented on the Gulf War. Unhappy with the lack of attention the album received, Peterson dropped out of music, studied Dramatic Arts at Kingsway College in London, and continued his studies at the London College of Printing, from which he received a M.A. in Interactive Multimedia. Peterson also started the art magazine The Edge. In 2000, he introduced his Y2K diary website, a site that commented on the Internet culture. The Virtual Alien track "The Way You Make Me Feel" was used at the website's launch party and eventually received 8,000 downloads. It was enough for MTV Europe to air the track's video and enough to influence Peterson to work again in music. He released the Virtual Alien compilation Debut de Siecle in 2001, and an album comprised of reworks and old tracks, Virtual Alien Presents: Old Nick, appeared in 2003. Besides music and publishing, Peterson has also been involved in film and released two full-length features, 2003's The Map of the Universe and 2004's The Memos.