Ard Bit is the artist project of Ard Janssen, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A composer, sound designer and field recordist who creates audio sculptures which are subtle, layered and characterized with great detail. His musical forms come about through free improvisation and systematic composition with a focus on minimalism.
“…it seems there are very few steps that keep the work of the Dutch composer from becoming an example of modern classical music rather than just ambient…” ~ Data.Wave
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I studied electronic music composition at the Institute of Sonology of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in June 2003. While working in composition and sound design for advertising and the cultural sector, I began developing musical ideas leading to my debut album Spanon, released on Symbolic Interaction in Japan in September 2009.
In 2011, Table For Two was released, a split EP with the artist Astroposer on Shipwrec Records, and in 2012 and 2014, the EPs Yelleen and Ellioth on Lowriders Recordings. My works have been remixed by prominent artists and included in multiple electronic music compilations.
In 2019, I released my fourth EP, Six Scores One, blending field recordings, soundscapes, and rhythmic sources into melancholic and atmospherically-layered constructions. Continuing on this new path, I created and released Amazing Bubble, a drone, noise, and ambient composition resulting from spontaneous improvisation sessions with modular synthesizers and field recordings as the main ingredients. In February 2021, I followed up with Amazing Bubble II, with a mastering re-treatment in October 2021 by Jochem Paap (Speedy J) at STOOR.
During my travels to Sri Lanka in the summer of 2019, I took my field recorder and captured a variety of sonic spots and hidden beauties that felt real and genuine. Wanting the world to hear these wonderful and peaceful environments, I created an ongoing new Field Recordings series, based on continuous curiosity, explorations, and awareness of sound fields in our environment. My latest episode was recorded in Czechia in the summer of 2022 and is my fourth release in the series. Graphic designer Niels Vrijdag has helped shape the concept and created the visual identity of the series.
In 2022, I completed the album Music For Delirious Episodes, which is based on work initiated between Amazing Bubble I and II, and released it on Shipwrec Records’s sublabel Phainomena.
In 2023, I began collaborating with Radboud Mens, a renowned sound artist and composer, resulting in the album Marking A Boundary With The Turning Point, released via Shimmering Moods in June 2024.
