In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Sardy was active as singer, songwriter and guitarist, most notably with his group Barkmarket – the band was active from about 1987 to 1996 and toured widely. In addition to being the group's singer, songwriter and guitarist, Sardy also produced, recorded and mixed all their albums which spawned his career as a producer known for interesting sounds, textures and recording techniques. 

Dave went on to work with an eclectic mix of rock, punk, alternative, electronic and industrial rock as a producer, writer and mixer. In 2006, Sardy won 6 ARIA awards for his work with Jet; he also received 3 Grammy Awards for his work with OK GO, Wolfmother and Marilyn Manson plus Brit Awards for work with Oasis, Marilyn Manson and Wolfmother.

Sardy recently scored the Columbia Pictures movie ’21’. He has also contributed music for the soundtracks to ‘Flushed Away’, ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Spiderman 2’, ‘Surf's Up’, ‘Goal’, ‘Big Daddy’, ‘South Park’, ‘Monster House’, ‘TMNT’, ‘Open Season’ and ‘Private Parts’.