Biography ~ Discography

That’s me…

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound designer and producer for documentaries, film, tv and this for over 30 years…
I meld elements of ambient and electronic music with a touch of neoclassical styles.

Former composer and recording artist for Innovative Communications (IC/Digit Music), founded by Klaus Schulze.
See the released albums list.

Co-founder of B-Wave and organizer of the renown Belgian B-Wave Festival.  
B-Wave provides creative and great artists from all over the world a true professional stage to support them and to help them grow their talent. B-Wave is a non-profit organisation.

Co-founder of Art For Ears, a Belgian non-profit organisation.
Art For Ears provides electronic music artists a stage through the Ambient Nation series of albums and most likely expands its horizon by being a record label….

 

Biography

Johan, or the man behind Venja.FB_avatar_keys_sml Making music has been in his blood since his childhood days.  It made his parents decide that he should get some music education… So he learned to play guitar, flute, keyboards etc…

Thanks to a school friend (we’re talking early 80’s!) he learned about the synthesizer. Its endless sound capabilities changed his musical life completely.  A bit later he and his cousin founded the electro/new wave band ‘Another Season’. After that he decided to start a solo-project: Venja. Using a self built synthesizer and some other custom made equipment he released his first album ‘Modesty’. Indeed a very modest album at that time.

Venja now is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound designer and producer for documentaries, film, tv and this for over 30 years…  Venja melds music elements of ambient, electronic, and neoclassical styles.
He was a recording artist for the renown German record label IC/Digit Music and is founder of the non-profit organisations Art For Ears and B-Wave to promote electronic and ambient music.

A few highlights:

  • 1987:  Release of the very first album “Modesty” on tape.
  • 1992:  Release of the tape album “Rapture!, which was sold out within a day !
  • 1995:  Signed by the prestigious German record label IC/Digit Music: release of 5 albums. 
  • 1997:  Winner of the soundtrack competition “Limbomania”.
  • 1997:  Composer for many TV-tunes for TV-Limburg.
  • 1998:  Sound designer for interactive Tele-Text INDI (Het Belang Van Limburg).
  • 1998:  Soundtrack for Interelectra, promotional clip.
  • 1998:  Promo-tune for Local TV-station Maasland.
  • 2003:  DA-Music (Deutsche Austrophon): released 3 albums.
  • 2013:  Mode Zen released by B-Wave.
  • 2014:  360° movie: soundtrack “Space Opera”, Cosmodrome Planetarium Genk.
  • 2016:  Syngate released Shapeshifter.
  • 2017:  30 years of Venja-music !
  • 2017:  Galactic Underground: collab project with Robert Rich, Erik Wøllo and soparano Roksana Vikaluk .
  • 2020: Galactic Underground Volume 2: collab project with Michael Stearns, Erik Wøllo and Japanese narrator Nyoko Mizuki.
  • 2021: Unfolded: a true full solo Venja-album!
  • 2021: Galactic Underground – Music For Astronauts: collab album with Rhea and Michael Brückner.

Venja is known for his concerts in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands and numerous compositions for documentaries, supporting tunes etc. 

Discography

You also may view a complete listing here, including compilations albums.

Tapes 

  • 1987  Modesty
  • 1989  Touched by Emotions
  • 1991  Cloudscapes – (The Rose Technology)
  • 1992  Rapture!  –  (Art for Ears)

CDs

  • 1993  Arcadia (feat. Reinhilde Weytjens) –  (Art for Ears)
  • 1995  Cashmere Moon (feat. Reinhilde Weytjens)  –  (IC/Digit Music)
  • 1996  A Dash Of Soul (feat. Reinhilde Weytjens)  –  (IC/Digit Music)
  • 1996  Floating Silence  –  (IC/Digit Music)
  • 1997  Rapture!  –  (IC/Digit Music)
  • 1999  Curves  –  (IC/Digit Music)
  • 2003  Wellness For Your Spirit  –  (Deutsche Austrophon/DA-Music)
  • 2005  Fantasy Journeys   –  (Deutsche Austrophon/DA-Music)
  • 2010  Fantasy Journeys vol.2  –  (Deutsche Austrophon/DA-Music)
  • 2013  Mode Zen (feat. Reinhilde Weytjens)  –  (B-Wave)
  • 2016  Shapeshifter – (Syngate)
  • 2017  Galactic Underground (feat. Robert Rich, Erik Wollo, Roksana Vikaluk) – (Wool-E-Discs)
  • 2020: Galactic Underground Volume 2: (feat. Michael Stearns, Erik Wøllo, Nyoko Mizuki – (Art For Ears)
  • 2021: Unfolded: a true full solo Venja-album! – (Art For Ears)
  • 2021: Galactic Underground – Music For Astronauts: collab album with Rhea and Michael Brückner. – (Art For Ears)

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