Stephan Micus - On the Wing

Born in 1953 in Germany, Stephan Micus made his first journey to the Orient at the age of sixteen and has since travelled to virtually every Asian and European country, as well as to many places in Africa and the Americas. To these numerous journeys he has been led by his fascination for the variety of musical traditions around the world, as well as his dedication to exploring the music and instruments of distant cultures.

Studying with local master musicians, he learned to play numerous traditional instruments, many of them unknown in the Western world. However, Micus’ intention is not to play these instruments in a traditional manner, but rather to develop the fresh musical possibilities which he feels are inherent in them, thus creating a new kind of music with a new sound.

He experimented with a variety of wind, string and percussion instruments from all the corners of the Earth, combining in his compositions instruments that have never been played together before. The resulting dialogues further reflect his vision of a transcultural music.

In addition to his exclusively acoustic instruments Micus also uses his voice, which contributes to the unique sound of his music.