Piet Goddaer (born 29 April 1970 in

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

) is a Belgian musician, better known by his stage name Ozark Henry. , he has released nine studio albums under the name Ozark Henry. In 2001, he released the album ''To All Our Escapes'' under the name Sunzoo Manley, a collaboration with Frank Deruytter.

Background

Goddaer drew the inspiration for his stage name from a

geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in the United States, the Ozark mountains, and the book ''Junkie'' by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

. Ozark Henry's first album, '' I'm Seeking Something That Has Already Found Me'', was considered avant-garde. His third album, ''Birthmarks'', marked a transition from earlier experimental music to pop music with classical influences, such as string and wind instruments. ''Birthmarks'' and the subsequent album ''The Sailor Not the Sea'' were Henry's breakthrough with Belgian audiences. Since the album ''The Soft Machine'' (2006), his music has been characterized by a more mainstream sound. Goddaer writes, composes, and produces his albums himself. In addition to regular studio albums, he has also released a few soundtracks, including for the film adaptation of

Thea Beckman Theodora Beckmann (née Petie; 23 July 1923 – 5 May 2004), better known by her pen name Thea Beckman, was a Dutch author of children's books. Biography At a young age, Beckman knew she wanted to be a writer. As a teenager, she would write num ...

's ''

Crusade in Jeans ''Crusade in Jeans'' (1973) is a children's novel written by Thea Beckman. It contains a fictional account of the children's crusade of 1212, as witnessed by Rudolf Hefting, a boy from the 20th century. The original Dutch title is ''Kruistocht ...

''. He has also produced music for other artists. Goddaer is known for always performing barefoot.

Career

In his early life, Goddaer was involved in several local bands. As a rapper in the band Word, founded by his brother Jan, Goddaer scored a cult hit with the song "Henry Man-She" in 1994. His career really took off when Goddaer started a solo career and adopted the stage name Ozark Henry. The debut album '' I'm Seeking Something That Has already Found Me'' was released in 1996 with Double T Music. In an interview,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

praised the album as "debut of the year", but the record had little commercial success. His second album, '' This Last Warm Solitude'', was released in Belgium in 1998. The next year, ''This Last Warm Solitude'' was released in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Germany, and France, and Henry received a

Zamu Award The Zamu Music Awards was an annual awards show in Flanders (Belgium), where the most outstanding Flemish and international musicians of the past year were honored. The Zamu Awards were founded ''ZaMu'' (''Zangers en Muzikanten''; the Flemish assoc ...

as best songwriter/composer. The next album, ''

Birthmarks A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanoc ...

'', was released in 2001 on

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and was the commercial breakthrough for Henry. The singles "Rescue" and "Sweet Instigator" were hits in Belgium, and the album was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

. Henry won two Zamu Awards: best pop/rock and best producer. He appeared regularly on television and radio shows, including Aan tafel. His fourth album, '' The Sailor not the Sea'', was released in 2004, and was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

the next year. Henry also won another Zamu Award for best songwriter/composer. His fifth album, ''

The Soft Machine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', was released in September 2006. For Henry's tenth anniversary, the compilation album ''

A Decade ''A Decade'' is Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace's first compilation album, released on November 21, 2006, in Canada, and November 28, 2006, in the United States. In addition to songs from the band's first six albums, the set inclu ...

'' was issued. The sixth album, '' Hvelreki'', was released in October 2010. Henry also wrote the music for several theatre projects and the soundtrack of the Belgian television series ''Sedes & Belli'', as well as ''

'', a movie based on a children's novel by

. He received the

Magritte Award for Best Original Score The Magritte Award for Best Original Score ( French: Magritte de la meilleure musique originale) is an award presented annually by the Académie André Delvaux. It is one of the Magritte Awards, which were established to recognize excellence in B ...

for his work in the 2012 film '' The World Belongs to Us''. His seventh album is ''Stay Gold''. In 2014, Henry re-recorded "We Are Incurable Romantics", a track from this album, with Italian singer-songwriter

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

. In 2015, Henry released the album ''Paramount'', which was recorded together with the

National Orchestra of Belgium The Belgian National Orchestra ( nl, Nationaal Orkest van België, french: Orchestre National de Belgique) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar). The orchestra also gi ...

. In 2017, his ninth album, ''Us'', came out.

Sunzoo Manley

In 1999, Goddaer collaborated with musician

Richard Jonckheere Richard Jonckheere (born 20 January 1963), better known by his stage names Richard23 and Richard JK, is a Belgian musician. He has been a member of Front 242 (which he joined in 1983) and was a founding member of Revolting Cocks (which he left ...

(under the moniker LaTchak) to record the track "If This Is Love". Nothing much happened until 2001, when Goddaer began recording an album together with Frank Deruytter, Marc François, and Stephane Galland, which was released the same year under the name ''To All Our Escapes''.

Awards

* 2000: Best Writer Composer-arranger –

Zamu Music Awards The Zamu Music Awards was an annual awards show in Flanders (Belgium), where the most outstanding Flemish and international musicians of the past year were honored. The Zamu Awards were founded ''ZaMu'' (''Zangers en Muzikanten''; the Flemish assoc ...

. * 2001: gold record for ''

''. * 2002: platinum record for ''

''. * 2004: gold record for '' The Sailor not the Sea''. * 2004: platinum record for '' The Sailor not the Sea''. * 2005: double platinum record for '' The Sailor not the Sea''. * 2006: gold record for ''

''. * 2006: platinum record for ''

''. * 2007: gold record for the compilation ''A decade''. * 2010: gold record for the single "This one's for you". * 2010: gold record for '' Hvelreki''. * 2010: platinum record for '' Hvelreki''. * 2011: won the 'MIA' for "Best Pop Artist" at the

Music Industry Awards The MIA's, in full Music Industry Awards, are Flemish music prizes that are awarded by the VRT in collaboration with Music Centre Flanders. The prizes replace the ZAMU Awards, last awarded in 2006. The abbreviation MIA is a wink to ''Mia'', a ...

. * 2013: Radio 2 Hit of the Summer for "I'm your sacrifice", sung together with Amaryllis Uitterlinden. * 2013: gold record for the single "I'm your sacrifice". * 2013: platinum record for "I'm your sacrifice". * 2013: gold record for ''Stay Gold''. * 2014: platinum record for ''Stay Gold''.

Activism

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

(UNODC) has appointed Piet Goddaer as its national goodwill ambassador against human trafficking. The appointment is aimed at increasing visibility and assisting in mobilizing support in Belgium to tackle human trafficking. Next to his work for the UNODC, Goddaer actively supports Bike For Africa.

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

Official website

Ozark Henry, new disc 'Stay Gold' review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Ozark 1970 births Living people Magritte Award winners 20th-century Belgian male musicians 21st-century Belgian male musicians