Hi Dirk, can you explain why your fans had to wait 10 years for this new Dive studio album 'Underneath'?
It's not like I didn't do anything during that time. At a certain moment it was very busy with the reunion of The Klinik and we were constantly touring with Absolute Body Control. There were a lot of releases in the meantime, also from my side project S/HE. When Out Of Line released the DIVE 8 cd boxset with the complete back catalogue it really felt as if a periode had been closed off, but people started to ask about new material regularly. We took a break with Absolute Body Control for a minimum of one year and I started writing and gathering ideas. See here the result.
The album sounds like we are used to from you; very dark. But you could say that this album even sounds a tick more gray, even more black as you were... Did the present worldwide and sometimes frightening developments influence this album?
The world today indeed looks a lot different from the world 10 years ago. And not in a positive way. Attacks, violance, terror, it has never been so close and I fear it will stay like that for a while.
Next to a few of your own compositions you have co-operated again with some veterans, namely Rafael M. Espinosa (with whom you made the last DIVE album 'Behind the Sun') and Italian moviemusic composer Ivan Iusco, Minus Habens Records boss, who we remember a.o. from the co-operation on the DIVE albums 'True Lies' and 'Concrete Jungle". Why did you choose this way of working?
Because in fact I am a non-musician. I don't play any instrument. Both have co-operated with me in the past and it felt good to pick it up again. They provided the songs while I took care of all lyrics and vocals (except for a few of the compositions). The advantage of working with different people is that the whole is more varied but still matches perfectly.
In the past most of your albums were released on your own label Daft Records, but now you release through the Berlin based Out Of Line records. I think this is a big change, from 'in-house' to one of the largest independent German labels (maybe even the largest worldwide). What made you decide to do this?
In these times of meaningless sales figures and assuming the promotion around an album is only meant to encourage live performances it seems logical to sign with a large record company that has the budget for this. And it has to be said that Out Of Line is present at all major festivals and knows what it is doing.
In the past year you have performed solo as 'Dirk Ivens' several times. In stead of performing as your real solo project DIVE. What made you do this?
Wave Gotic Treffen in Leipzig asked me to do this in order to catch all of my projects as a mix under one name. It was great to do. Blok 57 for example had never performed live before. But it's not something to be repeated. The priority is firmly on DIVE at the moment.
Talking about performances; I noticed that you will be doing a proper tour through Europe and even all the way to Brasil for this album. Does it ever bother you that other Belgian bands, that hardly make it across the border, get so much more media attention in comparison to your projects?
Not at all. Who can say that they have been working in music for over 30 years, making it their profession and seeing half of the world? Music has given me so much and the position of underdog fits me perfectly.
Famous musicians seem to be dropping like flies in the past years.....which icons did you loose and why did you admire them?
Mainly ALAN VEGA of Suicide, because for me he cleared a path through electronic music. And David Bowie, a man I had been following for over 40 years and a man who made incredibly good records. A part of my youth was torn out but that goes for everybody.
As an artist do you still have one dream that you would like to accomplish before you return to your happy hunting grounds?
Not really to be honest. I have / had the privilege to work with great personalities in the music world and to get to know a great many of people. As a musician you always try to stretch your boundries and improve upon your last work. So hereby: I am very happy about this new album and we'll see what the future holds.
By the way, where do you keep finding the energy and the want to keep giving yourself 100%? And all of this in an underground scene that is known to us all as rather limited when it comes to success?
That'll be the non-subsiding musician's drive. Music is a virus :-)
What can we expect from DIVE during the upcoming tour dates? How many new songs can we expect in your new live-set?
Because about 50% of the new songs are perfect for the live set they will be a major part. Supplemented with a selection of older songs. I am very much looking forward to transferring the energy of the album to the stage.
And last but not least: are you already contemplating new musical adventures/releases now this DIVE album has been released?
The response to the new album is great and I have caught the virus, so I will continue in silence...if silence is appropriate when it comes to DIVE.....ha, ha! :-)
www.dirkivens.com
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DIVE - "UNDERNEATH" - Tour 2017 - Part One
21.04 De Nieuwe Nor / Heerlen - Netherlands (+ Whispering Sons)
22.04 JH 2470 / Retie – Belgium (+ Stin Scatzor + Akalotz + KnK)
29.04 Rockcafe / Prague - Czech Republic (+ The Invincible Spirit + Psyche + The Saint Paul)
30.04 Gozsdu Mano Klub / Budapest – Hungary (+ The Juggernauts + True Zebra)
06.05 Madame / Sao Paulo – Brasil (+ The Force Dimension + The Juggernauts)
12.05 Stellwerk / Hamburg – Germany ( + The Juggernauts + TC75 )
13.05 Das Bett / Frankfurt – Germany (+ 2nd Face + Full Contact69)
26.05 Lygten Station / Copenhagen – Denmark
27.05 Slimelight / London – U.K (+ Gertrud Stein)
09.06 Synth After Work / Stockholm – Sweden (+ The Juggernauts)
10.06 Musikens Hus / Gothenborg – Sweden (+ The Juggernauts)