In 1978, Dirk started as singer and guitar player in the punk band Slaughterhouse, but broke up the group one year later to form the more new wave minded project The Few.

Influenced by bands like Suicide and Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and the UK electronic scene, he appears from 1980 on under the name Absolute Body Control on several compilations. The first single Is There An Exit ? became a local underground hit. The line-up changed very soon but with Eric Van Wonterghem he finds himself a partner for the next coming years regarding mixing, producing and collaborating.

In 1985, the Absolute Controlled Clinical Maniacs, a project with members of three Belgian bands, were invited to do a tour in Norway. When they returned, they changed their name to The Klinik. Dirk was a member of The Klinik until 1991. When they decided to split up, they already built themselves a very good live reputation with their unique sound and visual gigs and became, besides Front 242 and The Neon Judgement, one of the biggest names in the Belgian electonic/industrial scene. Even today they are still an influence for many young bands.

In 1990, Dirk released a self-titled solo album under the name Dive. It was released on his own label Body Records. The album was very primitive, harsh and experimental, with lyrics about hope, death, love and fear, but hits like 10000 volts. This was the start of many products with an evolving sound. With a minimum on equipment, Dirk creates a maximum of power. His sound is copied by a lot of newcomers in the last couple of years and he proved on many stages that less means more.

In 1996, Dirk starts Sonar with the aim to create rhythmical noise and dark soundscapes. The music is created with a combination of analogue and digital instruments. The rhythms remind to working machines, the soundscapes to droning planes. The sound of Sonar is made to make you move in another way, to tune you into a hypnotic beat. It is a straightforward sound which goes further on classic industrial but never without an extra dimension of powerful dynamics and tuned electronics. Sonar is looking for a contemporary definition of danceabe industrial and tries to discover this by controlling electronic devices.

Gigs worldwide, touring in Japan, Canada, USA, Europe, important festivals like Eurorock, Zillo, Wave-Gotik Treffen, Dour festival, collaborations with Controlled Bleeding, Kirlian Camera, Sigillum S, Ivan Iusco and Francoise Duvivier, his Daft Records label, a sideproject as Blok 57, touring with bands like Sigillum S, Esplendor Geometrico, Kirlian Camera, Vomito Negro, Neither Neither World, Monolith, Suicide Commando, Insekt, Numb, Noisex, Black Lung and Stereo Taxic Device, combined with an impressive discography makes that Dirk is still one of the leaders of the Belgian (Worldwide ?) electronic scene of today.

BIMFest 2026 @ De Casino

Performers