Willem Ardui (born in 1997) is a Belgian singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Antwerp. He is best known as being one half of the hip-hop duo blackwave., alongside rapper Jean Valery. Besides producing and composing for other artists, film and fashion projects, Ardui has also built a solo career marked by introspective, Dutch-language music.


EARLY YEARS
Willem Ardui grew up in a musical family and began playing the violin at the young age of five. He later transitioned to guitar and discovered his passion for composition and production playing around with GarageBand on his mother’s computer. While taking his first steps as a producer working with Bay Area rapper Caleborate, he pursued a degree in jazz violin at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, further refining his musical language and versatility.

blackwave.
In 2016 Willem founded blackwave. together with Jean-Valéry Atohoun. The duo blends hip-hop with elements of soul, jazz and pop. Taking the Belgian music scene by storm they released their first EP, Mic Check, in 2017. The project was well received among press and radio stations alike, landing them their first festival spots in the summer. After two years of touring, their debut album Are We Still Dreaming? quickly followed in 2019, which reached number four on the Belgian album charts. Their sophomore album, no sleep in LA, was released in september 2022 and debuted at number one in the Belgian charts. The singles "a-okay" and "cracked screen" were both featured in EA’s FIFA / FC video games in 2023 and 2024.

In 2019, blackwave. was selected as a finalist in the Hip-Hop category for the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards (MME), a recognition of promising European artists. The group has also received multiple nominations for the MIA’s (Music Industry Awards) in Belgium, in categories such as 'Breakthrough', 'Group', and 'Hip-Hop'.

SOLO WORK
Willem began his solo career in 2016 with the release of the single "Morse", followed by "Beziel Me" in 2018. These early tracks highlighted his ability to craft soft and tender music with layered production, often described as whispers for the attentive ear.

After an eight-year journey, Ardui released his long-awaited debut album Oevers in early 2024. The album features 14 tracks thematically centered around introspection and emotional vulnerability.

In 2025, he followed this up with the EP Overal, Nergens, which explores themes such as loss, longing, and love with frayed edges. Willem described the recording process as highly intuitive; often, all instrumental and vocal parts were recorded on the same day the song was written. He deliberately chose to retain the imperfections and spontaneity of those first takes to capture an honest and tangible sound.

PRODUCTION WORK
In addition to his own musical projects, Ardui has made a name for himself as a producer. Outside his work with blackwave., he has worked with artists such as Caleborate, BLUAI, Emma Bale, Lute, Brihang, and many more. In 2019, he was awarded Best Producer at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards.

In 2020, through a collaboration with director and longtime friend Ramy Moharam Fouad, Willem took his first steps as a film composer with soundtracks for the short films Schaduw, tot je terugkomt and Tot ik terugkom. It became apparent that his intricately layered production style was a perfect fit for this kind of work, and he quickly took on more film and tv projects.

Willem has also composed music for fashion shows and films by designer Jan-Jan Van Essche, as well as Igor Dieryck, some of which were selected for fashion film festivals in LA, London and Paris. 

Willem was commissioned to create an audio logo for the City of Antwerp in 2024. Drawing inspiration from the sounds of the harbor, the busy streets and the famous cathedral, he created a recognisable sound identity and palette, now subconsciously familiar to the residents of Antwerp.

As of 2025, he is working on music for an upcoming Netflix series.