Dive (Belgian band)


Dive is a Belgian electronic body music project formed in 1990 by Dirk Ivens. 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. The latest album "Where Do We Go From Here?" was made in collaboration with Jan Dewulf. It is available as regular CD and as a wooden box, limited to 500 copies, including the album on vinyl, the CD and an exclusive vinyl EP with extended versions and remixes from Numb and Suicide Commando.
Dive's live performances have always remained a solo effort.

Discography

Albums

  • Dive LP
  • First Album CD
  • Live Action CD
  • Inside Out LP
  • Concrete Jungle CD
  • No Pain - No Game CD
  • Box 2CD
  • Grinding Walls CD
  • Scraping Tokyo '95 CD
  • Snakedressed CD
  • No Pain - No Game + Reported 2CD
  • True Lies CD – #20 CMJ RPM Charts, U.S.
  • Behind the Sun CD
  • Through the Night CD
  • Are You Real 3CD
  • Underneath CD
  • Live Razzmatazz LP/Digital
  • Live Maschinenfest 2017 Cass/Digital
  • ''Where Do We Go From Here?''

    Singles and EPs

  • Final Report MLP/MCD
  • Broken Meat CDS
  • Images MCD/Book
  • Extended Play MCD
  • Reported MCD
  • Reported Picture LP
  • Two Faced Man CDS/Picture 7"
  • Dive Mix 12"
  • Lies in Your Eyes MCD/12"
  • Let Me In 12"/Digital

    Collaborations/split releases

  • Obsession EP with Kirlian Camera
  • Night Shadows CD
  • Frozen CD with Diskonnekted – #6 German Alternative Charts, Germany