‘It needs to be loud’: Jozef Van Wissem’s one-man mission to make the lute rock again

The Dutch ex-punk and Jim Jarmusch bandmate talks about his passion to free up a hidebound repertoire and make its strings ‘a real pop instrument’ Nobody can accuse Jozef Van Wissem of doing things by halves. The musician, very likely the world’s most notorious contemporary lutenist, owns a sonic arsenal of eight of the string instruments: some bespoke, and all boasting remarkable features. With them he has created a huge body of work, nearly 50 titles to date. Another album, This Is My Blood is released this May. Each Easter, Van Wissem settles down to compose a new record. He finds the peace of Warsaw, where everyone has “gone away for the holidays”, more amenable for work than “noisy” Rotterdam, where he also has a flat. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/lIktvjD via IFTTT

Makeup review secret life of a drag-artist banker underpins tender friendship tale

The story of an unlikely friendship between a city type and a haughty Frenchman has moments of genuine pathos but doesn’t quite feel real

This low-key, low-budget portrait of an odd-couple friendship takes a while to get going, and never fully hits its stride – though it has its moments. Director Hugo André plays chef turned food blogger Sacha, a fastidious Frenchman living in London who rents a room in a house. His new landlord and flatmate is city banker Dan (Will Masheter), who seems to slot neatly into the stereotype of macho finance bro. But Dan turns out to have a secret life, dressing up in glittery glam frocks and feather boas, transforming into alter ego Danielle.

A friendship of sorts develops between the two men, throwing up a couple of nice scenes. When Dan cooks soup, picky gourmand Sacha looks appalled in the way that only a Frenchman can at the claggy dollop of peanut butter slopped into his bowl. There’s a real sweetness, too, in Masheter’s performance as Dan begins to live more openly, tiptoeing into the world of cabaret – and, if nothing else, watching his self-expression blossom is a reminder of how sinister the anti-drag laws are that are currently sweeping the US.

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