Jozef van Wissem (NL)
From Maastricht
Popularity
Jozef van Wissem has one upcoming show in the Netherlands: on March 25, 2027 at Vera, Groningen.
About
Jozef van Wissem is on a mission to drag the lute out of the museum. The Maastricht born composer plays it in rock venues, dressed like a Nordic metal overlord, and builds minimalist pieces from layered palindromes, a few chords and one or two tunings. The Quietus once called him possibly the best known lute player in the Western world. His name travels furthest through film. He teamed up with Jim Jarmusch for several albums, then scored Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, which won him the Cannes Soundtrack Award in 2013. Four of his pieces turned up in the HBO series Irma Vep, and he later scored the Cannes award winning film Un Prince. On his own, there are records like When Shall This Bright Day Begin, with guest vocals from Zola Jesus, and Behold! I Make All Things New, an instrumental lute and electronics set written in lockdown between Warsaw and Rotterdam.
