Di-rect

Formed in 1998, the Dutch pop/rock outfit Di-Rect performed their material exclusively in English and landed a recording contract in 2000 after prominent DJ Rob Stenders championed the group. A demo cut by the teenage musicians contained the track that became their debut single, “Just the Way I Do,” and proved strong enough to place their first album, Discover, on the charts. The lineup featured Tim Akkerman on vocals and guitar, Bas van Wageningen on bass, Jamie Westland on drums, and French van Zoest on guitars.

Their second album, Over the Moon, arrived in 2003 and was followed in 2005 by All Systems Go, which coincided with appearances at several festivals, most notably the renowned PinkPop Festival. That same year the band traveled to the United States to participate in the MTV reality series Road Rally. Their fourth album, Di-Rect, presented a mellower rock approach that departed from the bright pop-punk sound of prior releases.

Akkerman revealed his departure in 2009, after which Di-Rect appeared in a television program to select a replacement; the eventual choice was singer Marcel Veenendaal. The first album recorded with Veenendaal, 2010’s This Is Who We Are, entered the Dutch Top Ten, as did the follow-up, Time Will Heal Our Senses, issued in 2011. Daydreams in a Blackout, released in spring 2014, was tracked entirely inside the band’s own studio.