Stephan Micus is a unique figure in music. In his numerous journeys all over the world he seeks to study and understand traditional instruments, the sounds that they produce and the cultures that brought them to life. He then composes original pieces for them, playing all the instruments himself and multi-tracking the compositions in many layers. In this way he combines instruments that would never normally be heard together, chosen from different cultures simply for their character, texture and sonic beauty. Micus’ music is profound, powerful and very original. Songlines magazine described his as “a one man universe of sound.” Nomad Songs is his 21st album for ECM.
While his last album Panagia was a meditative reflection around prayers to the Virgin Mary, this new one, Nomad Songs is more earthy and more vigorous.
Its main characters are two instruments that Micus hasn’t used before. The first is the Moroccan genbri, a lute covered with camel-skin, played by the Gnawa in Morocco. The Gnawa are the descendants of former Sub-Saharan slaves who play the genbri in night-long trance and healing ceremonies, traditionally combining it only with voices and big iron castanets. The deep sound of the genbri carries the earthy vibrations of Black Africa rather than the refined melodies of Arab lutes common in North Africa.
The second is the ndingo, a lamellophone similar to the kalimba, used by the San people in Botswana. These indigenous inhabitants of Southern Africa have been pushed off their land and marginalised by the new nation states. “All over the world there were people who lived over hundreds or thousands of years in complete harmony with nature and caused no damage to the environment,” explains Micus.
Stephan Micus: voice, ndingo, genbri, guitars, suling, nay, rewab, rabab, shakuhachi
In his journeys all over the world Stephan Micus seeks to study and understand traditional instruments, the sounds that they produce and the cultures that brought them to life. He then composes original pieces for them, combining instruments that would never normally be heard together, chosen from different cultures simply for their character, texture and sonic beauty. Nomad Songs is his 21st album for ECM; he plays nine different instruments, but emphasizes two he hasn’t used before: The first is the Moroccan genbri, a lute covered with camel-skin, played by the Gnawa in Morocco. The second is the ndingo, a lamellophone similar to the kalimba, used by the San people in Botswana. These indigenous inhabitants of Southern Africa have been pushed off their land and marginalized by the new nation states. With the album’s title Micus, who sees himself as a musical nomad, refers to both the situation of people like the Gnawa and the San as well as his own way of working and living.