Ard Bit - Field Recordings - 04 Balkans

Ard Bit is the artist project of Ard Janssen, 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.

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

The recordings for this episode are captured 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. I recorded a lot of material with a Geofón and a Zoom H5. It was hard to make decisions afterwards though, but I did. Back home in the studio I added some fragile ambient layers on top.

Locations: Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro and Slovenia

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

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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.