Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Blaudzun – A Review

      Blaudzun is the performance moniker of Johannes Sigmond, who is based in Arnhem, The Netherlands. The name “Blaudzun” originates from a Danish cyclist of the 1970s, but this Blaudzun regularly performs at soldout concerts in Europe. Unfortunately, his visit to SXSW in 2013 didn’t provide the same type of traction in the United States. Perhaps the release of the upcoming album (his fourth) will do the trick. The album drops in Europe on March 7, 2014.
     We are fans of the song “Flame on My Head” from the previous album (“Heavy Flowers”), but prefer the title track of the upcoming release, “Promises of No Man’s Land.” A press release states that his approach changed for this album. According to the press release:
     Sigmond spent more than ever time on his lyrics, which were written much later than the music. “That was new to me. I always work with syllables and sounds as I try to come up with words. It's a kind of gibberish, like speaking in tongues. Phrases and rhymes emerge from these melodic fragments in an organic way. I used to continue that process until phrases and stories arose, but with the songs on the new album I wanted to hold on to wordless melodies as long as possible. I was able to arrange songs differently because I could keep reason and content separate from the musical process for a long time. I’m more and more aware that words can destroy the music, that’s why I took my time to come up with the right lyrics. And although this may sound strange, it doesn’t mean my lyrics have become more important than before.”
      “Promises of No Man’s Land" by Blaudzun - the title track of the new album

      “Flame on My Head" by Blaudzun - from an earlier album.

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