When you think of a lute, a medieval bard in velvet might come to mind. But Jozef Van Wissem takes the lute from an instrument of ancient times to a modern melody with a pulsing beat and haunting vocals on the track “Cold Corpse.” It’s off his new album Ex Mortis, coming out this year on the boundary-pushing label Consouling Sounds. Van Wissem was inspired to create his new album by The Book of Gostlye Grace, a lusty (for God) composition written by the nuns of Helfta, Germany in the 1290’s. Today we’re excited to share this track with you, and if you’re in Europe you can catch Van Wissem live at Grauzone Festival in The Hague on February 7th. Right now, listen to “Cold Corpse” and travel back in time…pre-order Ex Mortis from Consouling Sounds right here.
Consouling is honored to welcome Jozef Van Wissem back for the release of his new album ‘Ex Mortis’. The idea of Ex Mortis, or ‘From Death’, was key to this album. It is inscribed on the lute used to record this album, and refers to the renaissance of lute music as carried out by Van Wissem. The new compositions are inspired by ‘The Book of Gostlye Grace’, which was written by nuns in the convent of Helfta in the 1290’s. It depicts an intense religious and even erotic desire to get closer to God. Playing around the dichotomy of eros and thanatos, Van Wissem paints a vivid and engrossing picture. He got the help from Jarboe, Nikolaj Komiagin and Thor to get his take on Ex Mortis come to full fruition. Jozef Van Wissem will extensively tour 2020 to promote Ex Mortis.
