Opis
Bocca di Lupo and Mouth of the Wolf by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch were recorded in Bologna, Italy, in July 2025. The sessions took place immediately after several live performances in New York and Chicago, and one week before the pair embarked on a short European tour that included Paris, London, Ghent, Porto, and their first-ever performance in Bologna.
What follows are notes directly from Jozef and Jim:
“Thanks to Gian Luca Farinelli and Rosanna Mordini of the extraordinary Cineteca di Bologna, we were able to secure recording time at the very cool Fonoprint Studios — located on Via Bocca di Lupo in Bologna, hence the titles of these two LPs. (‘In bocca al lupo’ — literally ‘into the mouth of the wolf’ — is the Italian expression used to wish someone good luck, equivalent to ‘Break a leg’ in English.)
Bocca di Lupo opens with a new version of our own song ‘Only Lovers Left Alive,’ while ‘Apology’ is a new version of an existing Jozef piece. All of the other tracks are new original compositions.
We were honoured to welcome the legendary Courtney Barnett as a guest duet partner on ‘Never Like You Said.’ The lyrics were written spontaneously in a single take in the studio. They are not directed at any particular person, but rather are an emotional response to several insincere and deceitful people — a way of closing the door on their toxic behaviour.
A casually recorded conversation between Adriana Coppi and Veronica Mayrr of Deux Femmes — about the ghostly auras of certain vintage women’s garments — was woven into the background of the track ‘Pour Deux Femmes.’
‘Black Roses’ is an original poem written in Bologna and recited within its own musical setting. All of the other tracks are instrumental.
Mouth of the Wolf, the second LP, consists of two longer, darkly ecstatic instrumental studio pieces — ‘In A’ and ‘Massa Damnata.’ Both were created using two electric guitars and grew out of our live performances. We consider it a musically self-contained album, which is why it is presented with its own cover and artwork.
Our music draws inspiration from many sources — from our friends in Sunn O))) and Swans to Terry Riley and Morton Feldman; from Hildegard von Bingen and William Lawes to Psychic Ills and Spacemen 3; from Les Rallizes Dénudés and NEU! to Nadja and Glenn Branca; from Ian Svenonius and Dead Skeletons to Son House and Gwenifer Raymond — from sunset to sunrise — from the full moon to the new moon —”
