--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          The history of Dirk Ivens
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There might be  a question who this guy is. Let's deal with that question first,
then. Do the names Klinik, Dive or Sonar ring any bells?

Dirk is a Belgian guy  who started  with music in  the late  seventies. He first
performed in a obscure punk band called 'Slaughter'. The bandnames you could get
away with in those days.. I never actually heard anything by this band and to my
knowledge nothing much is available.

Soon Dirk left guitar based music for the eletronic stuff. This was in the early
eighties and  Kraftwerk-like  sounds were  getting more  popular every day. Dirk
along with  some friends formed  Absolute Body Control. I only  heard one or two
songs from them and must say it was alot like Kraftwerk, maybe a bit too much.

Soon, they  evolved to get  a darker sound (Absolute Controlled Clinical Freaks)
and  finally  evolved  to The Klinik. Klinik  counted  only  2 members, a common
number  for an  electro  band. The  man  most  responsible  for  the  music  was
electronics wizz Marc Verhaeghen. The vocals were done by Dirk Ivens.

Klinik were  inspired  alot by Front242, but  instead of  just copying the beats
they made  the sound alot  darker. It combines  the atmosphere of Joy Division's
vocals with the minimalism of Suicide. Yet the realisation is very EBM, carrying
a strong beat.

By now we are at 1984..85 and the albums "Sabotage", "Melting close" and "Pain &
pleasure" are out. Altho  some of the songs on these albums sound primitive; the
lyrics are transliterated from Dutch leaving an unwanted cheesy impression.

However, overall  the songs  are very powerful. With a minimum of tools they get
the job done  and know how to thrill an audience. The members wear black leather
trenchcoats  are their heads are completely bandaged. Their performances seem to
have been rivalled only by Skinny Puppy (who else).

But on  with the music: in the  mid-eighties it ranges from slower EBM a la F242
to soundscapes. Some  of their  EBM songs  are an  inspiration  for dark electro
bands (Suicide Commando) for  years  to  come. The  soundscapes  not  unlike the
earlier industrial ones from Gristle, but more beat driven.

Klinik tracks  got faster  and faster, the  typical  120..150BPM of the the late
eighties. These tracks are the most excellent examples of EBM I have to say. You
can't improve on perfection, so the band split.

Klinik was now a one man band and some of it's tracks were good, but they lacked
good  vocals or  just a 'gut' feeling. Marc  was a man  of gadgets and more of a
musician than an 'artist'. The atmosphere was lost.

Dirk Ivens  went on  and pursued  a solo  career as  well. First  under the self
titled project D(irk)IVE(ns). A better move would have been hard to make.
'First Album' was  a knockout, redefining  minimal  electronic  music. The songs
were  dark, sounded  like  recorded  with  1 or 2  pieces  of stoneage  analogue
electronics. In  1991 the  sound was  highly sample  driven and Dirk  made a 180
degree turn!

I made a review  of "First Album" for UCM before, so I shall spare you (most of)
the  details. Suffice  to  say  it's the  most raw  and intense  pieces  of dark
electronics  for ages. For  good effect, play  at highes t volume. The guts will
liquify, the brain will shut down.

The follow-up Dive albums kept  this level of quality the most of the time. They
range from  quite hard ("First album" is still  the  hardest) to  almost ambient
("Grinding Walls").

Reported  was  a good  EP and  could have  been an  extension  to "First Album".
"Concrete jungle" was  alot  more   complex, owing   alot  to  singer/songwriter
material. The lyrics were indeed better than most Klinik material.

"Grinding Walls" was a very soft  affair. The  tracktitles  were  confusing like
hell. Most  described  the usual deformed  and mutilated  flesh, but  you had to
listen to the subleties in the music to get a bit of a kick, really.

It seemed like  here it was going to end. Dirk thought he had done everything he
could. How wrong  can a man be? But in 1996 he returned. Appalled by the Dutroux
scandal he needed an outlet and recorded 'Snakedressed'.

This  is  a  much  more 'open' album  than  the  rest. The  vocals  are  without
distorsion  and owe more to speech than to singing/screams. The beats sound more
ebm/technoid though; clearly less analogue than the earlier Dive recordings.

Nevertheless it's  a very  good album. The  beats  actually add up  to the sound
sometimes. Often it is like a flashback to Klinik.

"True lies", not to  be confused  with a certain halfway decent action film, was
just a  continuation of "Snakedressed". It  didn't  add  anything  in  my humble
opinion. Another  album was  released too, but  this was also very similar. With
this degree of minimalism, even more repitition is not recommended ;-)

Meanwhile, back  in 1996 a small revolution again took place. With the same kind
of suprise of Dive's appearance, a new act appeared. This time it was not just a
one man band. It was a two headed monster.

This monster was Sonar. The cooperation of Dirk Ivens and Patrick Stevens.
Patrick Stevens was a man more known from the tekkno scene and his influence was
visible. The sound  was very modern. Yet, in the tradition of Dirk Ivens, it had
its roots well in the past.

The sound  of Sonar  is best  described  as an  emulated  factory  machine. It's
industrial in its purest form, perhaps more so than the likes of Gristle or Test
Deparment. It  sounds like  a machine, sometimes  bearing  silimarities  with an
organism. It's hard  to explain, but Sonar is not just a superficial experience,
it's subtle. This is visible even through the monotone pumping of machinery.

The first  3 Sonar albums  were sublime  without  exception. The  formula  was a
success, the  listener at  home loved it  and many performances sold out. If the
volume was high enough it was right.

"The Remote Assault" album  was a slight disappointment to me. The digital beats
kinda disturbed  me. Everyone  does this, why  should  Sonar do  it as well? Its
structure  was monotone  yes, but  the subtleties  were  gone. Only pure digital
repitition. A shame.

This  year I  bought  the  new  album "Volt Control" with  mixed  feelings. When
hearing the first tracks I knew there was no reason for concern. It was digital,
but had all  the subtleties  and even  added some more complex beats,courtesy of
Eric van  Wonterghem. I check this  album frequently and still am not bored with
it.

There you  have it, 25 years  of fruitful  musical history. Dirk Ivens is one of
the greats in  electronic music and it seems like he isn't about to give up this
reputation. Let's hope for more records!

(Sorry, no discography  this time, it's  really  too much work to  sort this all
out.)

And btw, if you were wondering what happened to Klinik. It is still going today.
And I  must say  the recent  work is  very  good. It  might  lack  something  in
atmosphere, but  makes  up  for  this with  innovation and  concepts. Check  out
'Blanket of fog' for instance.

                                                                            earx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------