Jozef Van Wissem - Ex Patris FLAC download

Dutch musician Jozef van Wissem is known for his work written for and performed on the lute, but his repertoire goes beyond the merely scholarly, encompassing the deconstruction and inversion of classical tablature and the incorporation of field recordings and electronic elements into his compositions. On this release, however, the sound is pared back, even austere. Over four pieces van Wissem traces circular, minimalist patterns on a level landscape.Leading off with the nimble " The Day Is Coming", there is a sense of endless repetition, where a central theme is exhaustively repeated with minor shifts in emphasis. "Amor Fati (Love Is A Religion)" is more contemplative, with its fluid dip and rise repeated at length."Son Of Dawn" is lighter, more tentative for its brief duration; while the lengthy final track, " After The Fire Has Devoured All, It Will Consume Itself" takes up the entire second side of the record, allowing van Wissem to dig in for the long haul. Here the repetition allows for more variation, prompting a mood of fragile reverie, accentuated by hisinstrument's brittle timbre.Despite the context in which van Wissem seems to be placing them- antique gloom with a hint of archness- these compositions resonate neither with arcane weirdness nor postmodern subversiveness. Rather they reveal a meticulous urge towards symmetry and buttoned-down control, so that there's never a sense of getting lost in these spiralling pieces while their course however circuitous, is so carefully plotted.Tom Ridge - Wire Magazine

Limited to 500 copies. The title Ex Patris ('From The Fathers') plays on the idiomatic baroque lute compositions presented here which emulate the classical repertoire. It also refers to this almost forgotten instrument, which was passed on by the fathers. The aim is to bring back and liberate the lute. The four compositions on Ex Patris form a circular narrative of interlocking repetitive melodic series. The follow up to Important release It Is All That Is Made kicks off with the pro apocalyptic track 'The Day is Coming.' 'Amor Fati' ('Love Is A Religion') channels a deep interest in both love for religion and religious belief in love. Multiple palindromes are juxtaposed and linger. 'Son of Dawn' consists of mirrored lute harmonics that serve as an intro to the 13 minute elegiac 'After The Fire Has Devoured All It Will Consume Itself.' The piece builds and releases tension and puts layer upon layer of ecstatic melody. At the end even the work itself gets devoured but it remains eternal, with no potential beginning and without end.ARTISTSJozef van Wissem (Baroque lute)