Field Recordings

About the series

Field Recordings is about an auditory world in which one traverses. A series based on a continuous curiosity and explorations of (natural) sound fields. The recordings are layered in a soundscape, accompanied by musical elements or simply reproduced as it was captured. I am using contact microphones, geofon, shotgun microphones or a handheld recorder.

With every new episode of Field Recordings we* ask someone to come up with a color combination for the accompanying artwork based on their listening experience.

*the concept of Field Recordings is co-created with Niels Vrijdag.⠀

Field Recordings - 04 Balkans

Release date digital: July 5, 2023

Release date CD: August 23, 2023

“Het is een schitterend kleinood en reisdocument(aire) geworden”De Subjectivisten – read article

“The ambient backdrop Ard Bit waves as to underline the quiet and slow country life depicted in the field recordings. All of which I think is beautiful, even when I think some of this could extend beyond the few minutes this lasts.” Vital Weekly – read article | Igloomag – read article

“….over the course of seven tracks and 21 minutes Janssen amalgamates a plethora of often times washed out, cut up or otherwise unidentifiable fragments of Field Recordings with experimental electro-acoustic treatments….” Nitestylez.de – read article

The fourth episode in the Field Recordings series was recorded in the Balkans in the summer of 2022.

All sounds for this episode are recorded in the versatile fields of Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro and Slovenia. From Sarajevo’s Olympic Bobsleigh to the Cursed Mountains in Albania and back via the small peaceful village Miholjače in Bosnia to the beautiful Kamnik-Savinja Alps in Slovenia. The ambient layers on top are recorded in my studio in Rotterdam.

The colors of the cover artwork are chosen by Rutger Zuydervelt.

Rutger Zuydervelt composes music as Machinefabriek. His music combines elements of ambient, noise, minimalism, drone, field recordings and electro-acoustic experiments. The music can be heard as an attempt to create sonic environments for the listener to dwell in. It can be minimalistic at first glance, but reveals its depth upon closer listening.

“Listening to these recordings, I was immediately transported to my past travels through countries like Slovenia, Albania, and North Macedonia. Great memories of hikes through green fields and forests. But also of summers being too hot, leaving the vegatation withered and brown. So there you go, a fertile green and the beige of hay.” Rutger Zuydervelt

🌍 Locations: Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro and Slovenia

Field Recordings - 03 Poland

Release date: June 1, 2022

The third episode in the Field Recordings series was recorded in Poland in the summer of 2021. From the Bialowieza Forest on the border with Belarus, one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest, to the Tatra Mountains with her erratic rocks, high peaks, breathtaking views and beautiful nature, located on the border with Slovakia.

Besides recording the natural elements, animals and spatial environments, I used the landscape and the objects present as a sound canvas. Interesting sound textures were created by tapping, hitting, throwing or rubbing on and against surfaces.
In this episode I tried to capture the atmosphere of Poland through a coalescence of sound recordings and musical ideas.

The colors of the artwork were chosen by Nanna van Heest.

Nanna van Heest is a designer and researcher and fascinated by color and patterns. Floating in a universe of color, she likes to study the endless range of possibilities and combinations in which they appear or can be organized.

“The colors are based on my association with a combination of rusty metal parts while a dreamy cloudy sky passes by.”

🌍 Locations: Bialowieza, Krakow, Katowice, Tatra Mountains

Field Recordings - 02 Nolay

Release date: February 9, 2022

“These are sculpted selections of field sounds, creating an informative flow for your listening enjoyment. Instead of instruments, the composer is using recordings and arranging selections from the spectrum of audio that has been captured.”
Igloo Magazine, 10 May, 2022 – Read article

The recordings of the second episode in the Field recordings serie were made in a beautiful place called Nolay in Burgundy, France in the fall of 2021. The rumble of a fighter jet and the chirping of birds produces an interesting sound field where the birds react as the sound of the fighter jet increases in dynamics. The other recording was taken in ‘le bout du monde’ nature reserve, falling leaves with a cascade and the buzz of people in the background. The last composition is an amalgamation of these two recordings, accompanied by a harmonic drone that perfectly breathes the atmosphere of Nolay.

The colors of the artwork for this edition were chosen by Roos Muis.

Roos Muis (1993) writes essays that explore the intersection of the internal and the external world. She is currently working on Crossings, a collection of work looking at a variety of themes through the lens of the senses.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Nolay

What did I feel when I sat in front of my open window and let the world in, it was a gentle freshness / hope”

🌍 Locations:
Le Drone: les Chaumes Du Mont, Nolay
Le Feuille: le Bout Du Monde, Vauchignon

Field Recordings - 01 Sri Lanka

Release date: April 9, 2021

Armed with a Zoom H5 field recorder I recorded several spots and hidden beauties, the focus was mainly on non-human organisms. If you listen close and with attention there are many layers nature is producing (eg with headphones you’ll hear a drone produced by a chorus of cicadas, at 2:30 ”of Part I). But it was inevitable not to record human generated noise, so I decided to use these elements too in the soundscapes. The result is a powerful, mesmeric journey.

The field recordings were made on a trip to Sri Lanka in the summer of 2019 (East coast, Hill Country, South Coast, Sinharaja Rainforest) These recordings are edited and layered into two soundscapes*. Peaceful places, the ocean, the rainforest and a train (environment) provide the setting for these dynamic pieces. Sounds of birds, bees, screaming flying foxes, choirs of cicades, babbling brooks and also human generated noise are all included in the mix.

🌍 Locations:
Part I : Nilaveli, Pigeon island, Trincomalee, Sigiriya, Kandy
Part II: Kandy, Ella, Marissa, Sinharaja Rainforest

*All recordings on ‘Field Recordings’ are unaffected. Some recordings can also be heard, manipulated, on AMAZING BUBBLE I + II