CD ECM Records Stephan Micus: Life

2004

Stephan Micus - Bagana, Tibetan Chimes, Kyeezee, Sho, Voice, Maung, Tin Whistle, Bavarian Zither, Thai Singing Bowl, Dilruba, Nay, Bagana, Tibetan Cymbals, Dondon, Bowed Bagana, Balinese Gongs, Burmese Gongs

Both a continuation and a departure from earlier work, “Life” sets to music an old Zen koan, or teaching story, on “the meaning of life”. Stephan Micus sings the text in Japanese and embodies the koan’s multi-layered meanings in his composition, scored for a characteristically wide range of ethnic/traditional instruments – from the Ethiopian bagana to the Irish tin whistle.

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Keyboards, Le CD du mois
Gramophone/Korea, Editor’s Choice

Four years of hermit-like work in Mallorca has produced something totally outside the realm of the everyday. From interwoven layers to single, resonating notes, and with the Japanese text (sung by Micus) blowing through the work like a mountain breeze, Life has power and wisdom that seems as ancient as the landscape of contemplation that inspires it. It’s natural music that can be measured in aeons rather than minutes, as if forever playing in some lost cave. Micus’s sheer mastery means that never once do you question the validity of combining sounds as disparate as the Japanese sho, the tin whistle, the Bavarian zither and the bagana. He manages to balance archaeological fervour for preserving such exotic sounds with a Zen simplicity, while never falling into the trap marked ‘new age’.
Chris Jones, Songlines