Four young Dutch guys, one debut album, eleven amazing songs and-, above all, a display of energy and power. That is Di-rect in a nutshell and an indication of what you can expect from their long-awaited debut album Discover. It is not just another debut album by just another new rock-pop-skate-punk-funk band. If you have heard their stunning singles 'Just The Way' and the powerpunky cover of The Who's 'My Generation', and have experienced their energetic live show, you will already know that Di-rect is quite extraordinary.
Rewind to October 1999, when the story of Di-rect unfolds. Fifteen-year-old drummer Jamie Westland wants to form a new band. Together with his father and another musician from the Hague, the three of them decide to try and find other guys who,- just like Jamie,- have great musical talent. A few weeks later, it is a done deal. Just three hours after their first gig together, Jamie Westland (drums), Frans 'Spike' van Zoest (guitars), Bas van Wageningen (bass) and Tim Akkerman (vocals and guitars) and the lucky ones who happened to be present at this magical moment, - felt a 'click' they had never felt before. Although the guys had never met before, all four of them immediately felt that they were on exactly the same wavelength, that the chemistry between them was great and that this was what they had always been looking for:
Di-rect was born! From then on, everything the four guys have set out to do breathes Di-rect. The songs, mainly supplied by Tim Akkerman who had been writing and composing songs for a long time, seemed to come easily and within a few months Di-rect succeeded in making a demo with five amazing songs.
Then it really kicks off. A famous Dutch radio-DJ happens to see Di-rect play live and he, -just like everybody else who sees them perform,- is mesmerized by them. He plays a song from their demo on national radio, and the result of Di-rect's first airplay is overwhelming. Edwin Jansen, manager of Dutch rock band Kane, recognizes the song from the demo that he received a few weeks earlier and he signs the band without so much as a second thought. There is a huge interest of record-companies and two months later Di-rect decides to sign with Dino Music/EMI. Dinand Woesthoff and Dennis van Leeuwen, both from Kane (Dutch winners of 2 consecutive MTV-awards) see the band play live and feel that there is something very special about Di-rect. They decide to help the band with recording their first album, working with them on a few songs and on their live performance. Six months later, Di-rect is ready and able to support Kane on their 'As Long As You Want This` tour. The reactions to these gigs are incredible, the audience loves them and all hell seems to break loose. Their debut single 'Just The Way' is a huge hit, ending high in the charts, and their second single 'My Generation' is even more popular.
In the meantime, Di-rect starts working on their highly anticipated debut-album Discover. Together with the Kane-boys, Michel Schoots (ex-Urban Dance Squad), Dani�l Lohues (Skik) and Alex Dirkse (who eventually mixed and mastered the album) the band works on the album for more than a year.
They want the album to be a reflection of everything the band possesses (the talent, the chemistry, the catchy songs, the mature lyrics, their love of skating and skate punk) and radiates (the power, the energy, the fun), all comprised in about 40 minutes.
At the end of 2001, Di-rect is ready to show the world that all the praise the band has received in the last year has been deserved; Discover is a versatile album with a lot of surprises. It contains heavy power pop, catchy songs, beautiful (rock)ballads, amazing melodies and guitar-riffs, surprising breaks, great vocals and incredible playing. When you start playing the record, you can't help something happening to you and you immediately understand why the band has been spoken and written about with such praise. The album contains eleven edgy and cheeky songs, most of them written and composed by the band itself, with the exception of 'Free', The Who cover 'My Generation' and 'Inside my Head' . The staccato and daring songs deal with a variety of subjects such as love, suicide, chickens (!) and everything else that is on the guys' minds. From the heavy 'Just the Way' to the hillbilly-punk of 'On The Farm', Di-rect grabs you by the balls and keeps you in their firm grip for more than 40 minutes. Discover swings, rocks, surprises, sparkles, funks, cracks, pounds and leaves you completely dizzy.
With such a great record up their sleeve it is no wonder that 2002 has gotten off to an amazing start. Di-rect performs at the annual music industry fair Noorderslag, winning over the media and attracting new fans. Every week there are items about Di-rect in almost every teenage magazine. Their third single 'Inside My Head' is released and proves their status as most promising new band by reaching number 8 in the charts, their highest chart position so far. In February the band receives a Hitkrant award for Best Dutch Rock Act and in April they are nominated for an amazing four TMF awards. But the highlight so far must be that the band was invited to be at the prestigious Pinkpop festival, which gives them an opportunity to play for an audience of 60.000 people. They lived up to everybody's expectations by performing a great show. Later this year they will also perform at the Parkpop festival in The Hague, their hometown for more than 400.000 people visiting the festival.
On June 17th the fourth single of Discover, 'Free', will be released. The video clip was shot during their performance at Pinkpop 2002, and reflects the enormous energy and incredible talent of the band. The album is climbing the album charts as we speak. It
is safe to say that Di-rect has a very promising future ahead of them.