Direct

The Hague band formed in 1999 and first built its audience with Tim Akkerman singing. Just the Way I Do and Inside My Head became early calling cards, placing a clear melodic sensibility inside youthful guitar rock. Albums and extensive live work followed. By the time Akkerman left in 2009, DI-RECT had an established sound and a substantial shared history to reconsider.

The remaining musicians chose to carry on, with Veenendaal joining through the television programme Wie Is DI-RECT? and keyboard player Vince van Reeken also becoming part of the new formation. Times Are Changing introduced the transition. This Is Who We Are followed as an album and title single in 2010, making a direct statement about the group that had emerged from it. The personnel change matters because it altered the musical balance, not simply the appearance of the band.

Veenendaal's delivery asks for space to rise and draw back, bringing a different sense of scale to the guitar, bass and drums. The title song is an effective point of entry into that period: its emotional reach depends on the band supporting the vocal rather than competing with it. Time Will Heal Our Senses continued the studio sequence in 2011. The later live catalogue, including the band's own Live in De Kuip release in 2025, shows how far the ensemble approach developed. DI-RECT's history is unusually audible in the contrast between the early singles and the music after This Is Who We Are. The foundation remained a group of musicians playing together; they allowed a new voice to change what that foundation could carry.