Blaudzun

Blaudzun is the stage name of Johannes Sigmond, a Dutch singer-songwriter from Arnhem, Netherlands, born in 1974. Before starting a solo career in 2006, he plays in various bands and projects. His name comes from a relatively little-known Danish cyclist from the 1970s.

Early solo work

In 2007 he works on a set of songs first intended for a midnight car-drive soundtrack. The first six songs appear as the self-released EP Loveliesbleeding. He then goes to Barcelona to finish his self-titled debut album, which is released on V2 Records Benelux in 2008.

That first album leads to touring in the Benelux countries, including an appearance at Metropolis Festival, and support slots for Norwegian singer Ane Brun and Mark Eitzel’s American Music Club.

Seadrift Soundmachine

His second album, Seadrift Soundmachine, is recorded in September 2009 during sessions with The City of Prague Orchestra, whose work includes film scores for Das Leben der Anderen and Lost Highway. Blaudzun writes most of the songs in Barcelona and records in studios in the Netherlands and Prague. The album is released by V2 Benelux in February 2010.

In 2010 he appears at major summer festivals in the Netherlands, including The Great Wide Open and Lowlands, and ends the year with a sold-out club tour.

Heavy Flowers and wider recognition

Blaudzun breaks through more widely with his third album, Heavy Flowers, released in 2012 and issued in the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia and the United States through Krian Music Group. He follows it with sold-out club tours in the Netherlands and Belgium and festival dates in Europe and the United States, including Eurosonic/Noorderslag, Dranouter, The Great Escape, Sziget, SXSW and Lowlands.

The album brings several awards, including the Dutch Public Broadcasting Award for Best Album of the Year 2012, an Edison for Best Male Artist at the Dutch Edison Awards, and Best Alternative Act at 3FM, the Dutch national radio station. The single “Flame on My Head” becomes a widely played track on Studio Brussel and reaches both the Hotlist and Afrekening charts.

Promises of No Man's Land and later work

Promises of No Man's Land is released in 2014 by V2 Benelux for the Benelux and world market and by Glitterhouse Records in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It reaches number one in the Dutch Album Top 100 and number six in Belgium. The title track is also the album’s first single and serves as the closing anthem for the daily Olympic programme NOS Studio Sportwinter in Sochi. The video is made by Kimmo Films and directed by Mirka Duijn and Nina Spiering.

In April 2014 he again receives Best Alternative Act at 3FM. During the summer of 2014 he tours Europe with his band, appearing at festivals including Lowlands, Pukkelpop, Hurricane, Southside and Bråvalla.

In 2015 he releases the single “Powder Blue”, which is the title song for the Dutch film Ventoux. He also composes “Bon Voyage!”, the official anthem for that year’s Tour de France edition, which starts in his hometown of Utrecht.