After a recent tour of the United States, Dirk was kind enough to drop us a few lines about his musical projects...

How did the US tour go?
In general, it went well, considering the fact that only one CD is released in the U.S. and the rest are only available through import. Sonar is getting more well-known now and we saw this tour more as a promotion for the CD. The reactions were positive and hopefully we can go back when more products are released.

What was the highlight of the various shows?
L.A and San Diego were the best.  San Francisco suffered from a very bad sound-system; we only played a few songs.  And Sacramento was confirmed only two weeks before we started, for this fact not many people showed up.

I have heard that Patrick Stevens has left Sonar.  Is that true?  If so, why exactly did he leave?
He told me he wanted to do his own thing, no real reason was given to me.

What prompted you to work with Eric van Wonterghem again?
I know Eric for a very long time and we already played together in Absolute Body Control and The Klinik.  We never stopped working together, as he's producing most of the Dive albums.

Do you find it easier to work with him now rather than in the past?
We never had problems and we are close friends - Eric is also married to my sister, so we're family.

What has he been up to lately?
He has his own mastering studio, PRODAM, and he's making music under the name Monolith.  He released under this name a CD on my Daft label.

Did you make a real effort to get US distribution for Snakedressed and Overdose Simulation or did COP approach you with the idea?
It was easy to get a deal with them, as the name Dive is known well all over the world, and it's better for distribution as the import CDs are too expensive.

What was it about COP that made you want to work with them over other potential labels?
The people at COP believe in what they do, it's a small label and they work hard.  They treat each band equally and they are fine people.  They are correct and that's important.

How does Overdose Simulation compare to the older Sonar material?
It's a little bit more worked out; we spent a lot of time in finding new sounds as the first CD was more based on the rhythm.

Will any of that older material be released in the States in the near future?
At this moment, we haven't spoken about it, as we want to concentrate on writing new material.

What kind of equipment and set-up do you generally use for the live shows?
We use a drum machine, a wasp synthesizer, a sampler and some effects.

Do you have a significantly different set-up for Dive?
With Dive, I only use a mini-disc for the songs and the voice is live added on top; so there's no room for improvisation.

What can you tell me about the upcoming Dive album?
I am slowly working on it, but at the moment my intrest goes more for Sonar. I also don't want to make a Dive album each year - it's more complicated than the Sonar stuff with the lyrics, music with song structures.

From what I can gather, you have done a lot of traveling, both on tour and personally.  What are some of the more interesting experiences you've had thus far?
The tour I did in Japan was really nice and last year I was on holiday in China - very impressive.

Have you written anything that falls outside of the scope of either Sonar or Dive?
No, everything I write is used in one way or another.

I know a lot of people had horror stories to tell when Fifth Colvmn went under.  How did it affect you?
I am glad that I asked for advance payement, so it's not a big deal for me. They went down shortly after they licensed my stuff so I never had any real contact with them.

How much time do you spend on average running Daft Records?
Together with making my own music, I can say it's a daily job.  It's a one-man company so my days are filled.

Is the company in good shape?  Are you happy with the way Daft has evolved over time?
Yes, we can do what we want, no pressure. In the coming months, we will release new material from Dark Day, Monolith, Sigillum S and others. We pick our releases carefully and [they are] always limited editions.  The only pity is that the CDs are so expensive overseas, so it would be better to find licensing deals over there.

What are some personal favorite CDs recently?
The new Pan Sonic and The Creatures.

I notice you released a live Sonar cassette a while back.  Do you have any plans for a live CD at any point?
We released that tape as a picturedisc LP on Triton under the name Connected.

Have you completed any remixes recently or have plans to do some?
We just recieved a very good remix of our "Cosmic Ray" track done by MSB, a side project of Esplendor Geometrico.  And we remixed a track from Mother Destruction called "Teczoid, Honey Man" on their latest 12 inch.  The MCD Sonar vs Muslimgauze contains also remixes from both bands.

In terms of recognition, do people know you mainly from Dive, Sonar or The Klinik?
Mainly Dive and The Klinik, but with Sonar it's only a matter of time. We got very good responses to our live shows.

What is the biggest thing you've always wanted to do but haven't done yet?
Playing as support for Suicide, my all time favorite band.