| Clemens Wijers | |
| Alias: | Ardek |
| Birth Date: | 1983 11, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Southern Netherlands |
| Genre: | Symphonic black metal, Black metal, Classical, Industrial |
| Occupation: | Keyboardist, songwriter |
| Instrument: | Keyboard, Piano |
| Years Active: | 2002–present |
| Label: | Season of Mist, Maddening Media, Clemens Wijers Music Productions |
| Current Member Of: | Carach Angren |
| Associated Acts: | Carach Angren, Dark Mutation, Vaultage, Lindemann, Ex Deo, Pain, Vredehammer, Bodyfarm, Utbyrd |
| Website: | http://www.clemenswijers.com |
Clemens "Ardek" Wijers (born 10 November 1983) is a Dutch keyboardist, pianist, and composer best known as the keyboardist of Dutch symphonic black metal band Carach Angren. Prior to forming Carach Angren with his brother Ivo "Namtar" Wijers and Dennis "Seregor" Droomers, he played with Dark Mutation and Vaultage. Wijers has written songs for Rammstein singer Till Lindemann's side project Lindemann and solo album, in addition to contributing orchestration and orchestral arrangements for Lindemann, Pain, Ex Deo and Joe Lynn Turner.[1] [2] [3] He has also composed several soundtrack albums and provided soundtracks for short films.[4]
Wijers first started playing piano at the age of seven and played with a local youth choir throughout his teen years.[5] [6] As a teenager, he was listening to dance music before being introduced to metal at age fifteen and joined a band as a way of combining his new interest with his classical background.[7] Wijers studied music at the Tilburg Conservatory in 2002 before forming Vaultage that same year, and co-founding Carach Angren together with his brother Ivo "Namtar" Wijers and Dennis "Seregor" Droomers in 2003. Wijers is the band's main composer, while bandmate Droomers writes the lyrics and stories.[8] Wijers has stated that he is influenced by classical composers, movies and soundtracks.[9] He particularly enjoys video game soundtracks, having been a gamer in the 1990s and a fan of the Doom series.[10]
Alongside Carach Angren, Wijers released his debut solo album titled Worlds in 2017, which mainly featured a combination of industrial and classical music tracks.[11] [12] His second solo album, Worlds II, was released in 2021. Wijers has also written songs and contributed orchestration for Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren's side project Lindemann.[13] He further collaborated with singer Lindemann as a producer and songwriter on his debut solo album, Zunge, and contributed orchestral arrangements for Tägtgren's project Pain on their album Coming Home. He has also provided orchestration for Ex Deo and Joe Lynn Turner.[14] Wijers has composed several soundtrack albums, soundtracks for short films, and offers music lessons.[15]
Studio albums
Studio EPs
Studio albums
Studio EPs
Studio EPs
| Year | Artist | Title | Song(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Vredehammer | Pans Skygge | "Oktober" | Composer | |
| 2015 | Bodyfarm | Battle Breed | "Hell March (Intro)" | Orchestration | |
| Lindemann | Skills in Pills | "That's My Heart" | Composer, additional vocals | ||
| Additional orchestral arrangements | |||||
| 2016 | Pain | Coming Home | Orchestral arrangements | ||
| 2017 | Ex Deo | The Immortal Wars | Orchestration | ||
| Utbyrd | Varskrik | Orchestration | |||
| 2020 | Lindemann | F & M | "Wer weiß das schon" | Composer | |
| Additional ochestral arrangements | |||||
| 2021 | Live in Moscow | "Intro", "Credits" | Composer | ||
| Ex Deo | The Thirteen Years of Nero | Orchestration | |||
| 2022 | In Tiefem Fall | Disc 2 - Portrait Of A Shattered MindComposer, piano, choir, violin | |||
| Joe Lynn Turner | Belly of the Beast | "Tortured Soul", "Dark Night Of The Soul" | Additional orchestration | ||
| 2023 | Till Lindemann | Zunge | "Alles für die Kinder" | Songwriter, producer, engineer, instruments, backing vocals |