It has been a busy year for spiritual lute experimentalist Jozef Van Wissem, with one studio album (THE NIGHT DWELLS IN THE DAY), one soundtrack album (Un Prince), and many concerts. We were there for Van Wissem’s Berlin concert at Neue Zukunft and did a short interview afterward to catch up.
Last time we talked to each other, you had just released Nosferatu: The Call Of The Deathbird. In your album THE NIGHT DWELLS IN THE DAY which came out earlier this year, there is the song “THE CALL OF THE DEATHBIRD”, which also happens to emerge much earlier than other songs on the album. So maybe walk us through your journey in the last two years, and what role that song -or that ‘deathbird’ concept- plays in all that.
The piece “The Call of the Deathbird” was written during the COVID era when the streets were empty. I was in Warsaw at the time. I describe the experience in the song. I felt quite isolated and stayed inside. In hindsight, it was a good intense time. I feel quite melancholic about this.
The title, however, comes from Nosferatu the vampire film (1922). In the movie “Der Todesvogel” is mentioned, the German word for Death Bird, the Deathbird of the Plague. It is strange how contemporary this film is, being over a century old. I can recommend you go see it.
Speaking of Nosferatu, how do you feel about the Nosferatu remake that is coming this Christmas? Do you plan to see it?
I would love to see it, yes. And hear the soundtrack. Usually when I like a soundtrack it doesn’t necessarily mean I like the movie too.
The vinyl record I released on Incunabulum Records of my soundtrack will be reissued soon. It is sold out. It will be released as the Red Vinyl Vampire edition.
Do you dream often? What was the last dream that you saw?
I often dream that I am somewhere close to an abyss.I fall into the abyss and then wake up. I am afraid of heights.
Maybe the world is falling into an abyss at the moment.
As a man interested in the occult, the spiritual, and beyond, do you have any interest in astrology? If so, what can you say about your research on it?
I don’t really research astrology I am afraid. But things can be difficult at certain similar recurring times.
During your concerts, you strike me as the sort of person who enjoys observing the environment and audience around him rather than just isolating and getting lost in his own performative space. Is that true?
Yes, I like to communicate with the audience so I look at them sometimes during the concert. So it goes both ways. It’s more of an inclusive experience.
It has to be this way.
Name one concert memory that holds a special place in your heart.
I played in a church in Chernivtsi in Ukraine a while ago. There is a film of the concert. People were closing their eyes and some people fainted. It was a religious experience. One time when I played in Los Angeles there was an earthquake during the concert. Everyone stayed.
Where do we go from here? Any new projects coming along soon?
I am doing a nationwide American solo tour in December. I hope to return to Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Balkans next year. The last film score I did was for a movie titled Un Prince. It won at the Cannes Film Festival. The soundtrack for that one was just released on Incunabulum Records. I was recently commissioned to compose and perform the score to another silent horror film, The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Jean Epstein (1928). So I will be doing live scores to that. It’s quite experimental for the time, as Luis Bunuel was involved as a scriptwriter.
I am working on my new solo record and a new film score as well.
You can check out Jozef Van Wissem’s Bandcamp profile here.
