Dive (Belgian band)

Dive is a Belgian electronic body music project formed in 1990 by Dirk Ivens (Absolute Body Control, Klinik, Blok 57, Sonar). Dive's "audio trademark" is the experimental sound of abused drum machines, pulsating through crackling distortion on almost every song.

History

Dirk Ivens began Dive as a solo project in 1990 during the waning days of his participation in the band Klinik. With Dive, Dirk sought to have complete control over his creative process as a change from his many previous years working with bands. Dive as a musical concept was intended to project a far more minimal presence, not only in terms of the equipment and sounds produced, but in live performances as well; Dirk performs on stage with just himself and his recordings and minimal visual presentation.

The earliest Dive works were produced with only a rhythm machine and several effects units that, together, produced rhythmic, distorted noise tracks overlain with Dirk's vocals - always processed, sometimes distorted. The overall presentation was that of "noise as noise" with instructions in the liner notes that the music was "to be played at maximum volume." With the release of Snakedressed, Dive took on a more club-friendly sound with a wider sonic palette and less pronounced distortion.

Although explicitly a solo project of Ivens', Dirk has worked numerous times in the studio with composer and Minus Habens label founder Ivan Iusco. Several tracks included in the albums Concrete Jungle, Snakedressed, True Lies and Underneath are written and produced by Ivan. Rafael M. Espinosa of Geistform also produced several tracks for Behind The Sun and Underneath.