Dirk Ivens Week, Part 2

Dirk Ivens began his musical career singing and playing guitar in the punk band Slaughterhouse, but it was hearing Suicide in 1978 that opened up a whole new perspective. He created Absolute Body Control in 1980, influenced by not only Suicide, but by DAF and Fad Gadget. The timing couldn't have been better, as fellow Belgians The Neon Judgement and Front 242 were also just starting out. Electronic Body Music was born.


Suicidce - Harlem [live, circa 1980]


Front 242 - Controversy Between [1983]


Absolute Body Control - Into The Light [live, 2008]

In 1985, Absolute Body Control consolidated with two other bands to become Absolute Controlled Clinical Maniacs. After touring Norway, they simplified the name to The Klink, or simply Klinik. Klinik went on to be one of the most legendary industrial/EBM bands of the '80s. Ivens left the band in 1990 to pursue the solo project Dive. Dive's live shows were [and still are] particularly interesting because Ivens performs solo on stage with tape loops and drum machines, creating an extremely raw and intimate experience.


Dive - Power of Passion [live, 2007]

Thirty years on, Ivens hasn't lost a bit of his commanding stage presence - defined by assertive vocals, an almost telepathic connection with the audience, and a taught physique that singers half his age must admire. He's in a very special club there: only Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb, Jared Louche of Chemlab, Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy and perhaps Peter Murphy have had such similarly kind metabolisms and perform with the pent-up energy of a caged tiger. It's also a matter of remaining active and young at heart. According to a recent interview, Ivens goes out to concerts frequently, swims twice a week, and volunteers as a driver for handicapped people.


Dive - True Lies [live, 2008]