Inland Sea

I was first drawn to the music of Stephan Micus by his piece written for 56 flowerpots in the 1980s. While travelling the world over the years, Micus' hunter-gatherer instincts have picked up many different instruments and traditions, which he has reworked into his own very distinctive music. His is a key voice on the ECM label. Inland Sea explores his latest enthusiasm, the nyckelharpa, (Swedish keyed fiddle), a European companion to his many Asian bowed instruments. The album plays out their unfolding relationship via plucking, bowing, hitting, stroking and strumming.
Micus' other discovery here is the balanzikom, a lute from the borders of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which he says is unlike any other instrument he has ever played. Its partnership with the nyckelharpa, together with Micus' long-standing love of the Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo flute), as well as his own voice in a self-created language, combine in music that is reflective and intriguing. At the album's heart is the hymn-like chant ‘Virgen de la Mer’. The listener is prompted to ask: are we in a church, or high on a mountain surveying the vast valleys of the world? I guess we are wherever we want to be.