# CD review: Stephan Micus – White Night 2019: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2019/04/26/cd-review-stephan-micus-white-night-2019-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2019-04-26T12:23:25+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Stephan Micus is a key reference in the world music scene. His thematic albums
allow us to discover new places and sounds and White Night, the 23rd solo work for
ECM, takes us into another journey full of musical idiosyncrasies. **

Operating several quirky instruments with deep focus, Micus starts this excursion
in the East with the primitive, ancient, and eternal contemplation “The Eastern 
Gate”, which proposes atonality and deep hollow textures, and ends in the West with
the well-delineated movements and robust rhythmic cadence of “The Western Gate”.
Both tunes feature five 14-string guitars (a Micus trademark), one bass duduk (Armenian
drone instrument taken to another level by Micus), and Tibetan cymbals, but while
the former incorporates a more conventional steel string guitar, the latter employs
one sinding (West African harp with five strings made of cotton).

The ten-stage route encompasses “The Bridge”, where vocalized chants echo on top
of the vibes produced by four bronze kalimbas (they come from four different African
countries) and sinding, “The River”, crossed with timely percussive rattles and 
lovely duduk melancholy, and a “Black Hill”, whose exotic groove feels like a song
of praise for mother Earth. The latter number piles up eight Indian cane whistles
and a nay (ancient Egyptian hollow reed flute) and make them dance harmoniously 
over the raw pulse established by a couple of dondon, the ‘talking-drum’ from Ghana.

This recording was inspired by the moonlight and its special magic. Hence, the sight
of “Fireflies” and the presence of the “Moon” itself are intrinsic parts of the 
scenario, authentic anticlimactic balms for this busy, technological world we’re
immersed in. The former composition emanates a warm African breeze created by 22
layers of sound that include pitch-clear vocals, kalimba, sinding, and Indian cane
whistles. In contrast, “Moon” is told in only one voice with the lonely sounds of
duduk arching over the silence. This piece, together with “All The Way”, a kalimba
solo, was recorded in just one take.

Micus continues his spiritual celebration of cultural diversity through imaginative,
humble music.

1 The Eastern Gate 6:55
 2 The Bridge 4:54 3 The River 5:59 4 Fireflies 3:54 5 The
Moon 3:22 6 The Poet4:32 7 All The Way 3:20 8 Black Hill 3:42 9 The Forest 3:47 
10 The Western Gate 9:33

**Stephan Micus Guitars, Duduk and Bass Duduk, Cymbals, Kalimba, Sinding, Voice,
Cane Whistles, Nay **

![Image result for Stephan Micus - White Night](https://shop.new-art.nl/assets/image.
php?width=800&image=/content/img/new_products_queue/1551258797.jpg)

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