About
The New York Times describes Jozef van Wissem as “both an avant-garde composer and a baroque lutenist, and thus no stranger to dichotomy.” With his striking all-black baroque lute, van Wissem has spent years reshaping the perception of the instrument, pushing it beyond classical boundaries into hypnotic, cinematic sound worlds…
The New York Times describes Jozef van Wissem as “both an avant-garde composer and a baroque lutenist, and thus no stranger to dichotomy.” With his striking all-black baroque lute, van Wissem has spent years reshaping the perception of the instrument, pushing it beyond classical boundaries into hypnotic, cinematic sound worlds that are both minimal and immersive. His performances have been called meditative, otherworldly, and darkly transcendent, often unfolding like rituals that balance silence and intensity.
Van Wissem is perhaps best known for his award-winning collaborations with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, including the Cannes Soundtrack Award–winning score for Only Lovers Left Alive. He has worked with artists such as Tilda Swinton and Zola Jesus, composed for HBO’s Irma Vep, and toured extensively across the globe, performing everywhere from underground clubs and rock festivals to churches and art-house cinemas. In recent years, his live scores for silent horror classics like Nosferatu (1922) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) have earned critical acclaim, praised for their ability to evolve from delicate lute passages to walls of sound that evoke gothic atmospheres, drone, and even death metal.
2026 marks an important new chapter in van Wissem’s career, with the release of a new solo record and a world tour that will introduce audiences to his latest work. The Dublin concert will feature brand new compositions, including cinematic slide lute pieces that conjure contemporary desolate landscapes, layered with subtle electronics and spectral drones. Audiences will also get a glimpse of his upcoming live score for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), which he will premiere later in the year.
Van Wissem’s concerts are not just musical events but immersive experiences hypnotic journeys that blur the lines between ancient and modern, the sacred and the profane. His music is steeped in myth, faith, and meditative repetition, yet unafraid to embrace distortion, drones, and raw power. The Chicago Reader recently noted of his 2024 album The Night Dwells in the Day that he “bolsters the lute’s delicate progress…using sequenced beats, subliminal electronic drones, and stern intonations,” pointing to the continually evolving nature of his sound.
