Dive in town

I’m in a Dive mood at the moment. First of all because Dirk Ivens will perform this Friday in Utrecht at the Xtreactor event. Secondly because two weeks ago I found two older Dive releases in a German second-hand record shop: the mcd “Final Report’ (1991), with immortal songs as ‘Mercy’, as well as the compilation ‘No Pain – No Game’ (1994), with demo, live and compilation tracks. I don’t listen to a lot of electro music anymore, but for oldschool Belgian EBM I have a soft spot. The music of Dive is usually cold, raw, minimal and monotonous, somewhere between EBM, industrial/noise and experimental soundscapes. The threatening voice of Ivens is a consistent factor, usually shouting about torture, fear and killing. I really got into Dive with the classic album ‘Concrete Jungle’ (1993). Then I started my way back listening to older releases and former Dirk Ivens projects like The Klinik and Absolute Body Control. Recent Dive albums like ‘Behind the sun’ and ‘True Lies’ are solid, though I prefer his older material. I’m looking forward to see Dive live again. Though his shows are not spectacular, there is something very physical and intense about Ivens’ performance which makes it usually worthwile.