Absolute Body Control

Born in Belgium in the late 1970s, Absolute Body Control formed around Dirk Ivens, initially with Marc De Jonghe and Veerle De Schepper, before consolidating from 1981 as the duo Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem. The project occupies a meeting point between minimal synthpop, early EBM and industrial music, characterized by dry structures, repetitive sequences and an acknowledged punk and new wave heritage. During its first period, from 1979 to 1984, Absolute Body Control mainly released cassettes and the single Is There an Exit? in 1981, and its tracks circulated beyond Belgium through the international cassette-trading network. After this initial phase, Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem continued their collaboration in other projects such as The Klinik and Sonar. A first reappraisal of the repertoire appeared with the compilation Eat This in 1993, followed by Lost/Found in 2005, before the project returned to the stage from 2006. Absolute Body Control then resumed regular activity with Wind[Re]Wind in 2007, the studio album Shattered Illusion in 2010, and several EPs including Sorrow (2010), Surrender No Resistance (2011), Waving Hands (2015), Slow Action (2018) and A New Dawn (2021).