Ozark Henry collaborates with the National Orchestra of Belgium
Flemish singer and musician Piet Goddaer, aka Ozark Henry, has collaborated with the National Orchestra of Belgium on a unique new album and a handful of concerts
We can all be heroes
“We discovered that my music was highly suited to be played by a symphonic orchestra,” explains Piet Goddaer, the Kortrijk-born musician who was been using the moniker Ozark Henry for 20 years.
Classical music is not new territory; Goddaer’s father, Norbert Goddaer, was, among other things, a classical composer. “In my youth, classical music was as important as punk and post punk,” says Goddaer. “I was as impressed by Beethoven and Mahler as by Kraftwerk.” In fact, some of NOB’s members studied with Goddaer’s father.
In 2013, NOB suggested they collaborate again – this time with only Ozark Henry music on the programme. Goddaer eventually decided to write a few new songs and combine them with existing work, both hits and lesser-known album tracks.
It took a year to orchestrate the songs, and Goddaer seized the opportunity to record Paramount. “It’s the first – and probably the last – time I get to work with an orchestra of 90 musicians. I thought it a bit of a waste to only do a few concerts.”
Goddaer and the orchestra, who premiere Paramount on 5 March in Brussels, had to start nearly from scratch: The singer did a lot of listening, he says, but didn’t find one recording that he thought contained the right balance between a voice and an orchestra – not drowning out the voice, while still keeping the details of the orchestra’s multitude of instruments and sounds dynamic.
Expressive extremes
In the end he chose 9.1 Auro 3D sound. Without getting into all the technical details, the system works with nine loudspeakers. Goddaer stresses that the method is far more expressive than stereo sound.
Audio technology has undergone an evolution, but it hasn’t reached a wide audience
“In visual arts, we find it normal that technology evolves,” he says. “The quality is so much better than 10 years ago, it’s almost revolutionary. Audio technology has undergone a similar evolution, but it hasn’t broken through to a wide audience. The misconception is that it’s much too expensive.”
Well, isn’t it, with nine speakers? “No,” he replies. “As the sound is spread out over nine speakers, they can be much smaller than those of contemporary stereo installations.” He draws a parallel with the transition from mono to stereo in the 1960s. “‘Why do I suddenly need two speakers,’ people asked at that time, ‘and to which one of the two should I listen?’"
Paramount includes one cover, David Bowie’s “Heroes”. Strangely enough, the title has been changed to “We Can Be Heroes”. “That was a request from Bowie and Brian Eno, who co-wrote the song,” explains Goddaer. “They found it such a different version that they thought it deserved a new title.”
Although the new album is called Paramount, Goddaer isn’t claiming that he sees himself as the best of the best. But working with a symphonic orchestra “is probably the highest, the most I can aim for,” he says. “And I could realise it with people, both musicians and technicians, who are among the best in their field. For me, it’s really paramount.”
Tickets to Ozark Henry and NOB performing Paramount went fast; the March dates are sold out. An additional concert has been scheduled for November in Antwerp
photo by Veerle Vercauteren
