Ocean

Though it would be easy to say that German-born multi-instrumentalist Stephan Micus has left one of the most indelible imprints of any ECM artist, the ephemerality of his music might challenge that claim. Ocean is Micus’s first release for the label proper (following a few on the sister JAPO imprint), combining Japanese mouth organ and shakuhachi, Egyptian nay, Bavarian zither, hammered dulcimer, and voice. The shakuhachi is a primary actor in this drama, courting an intercontinental cast in this deeply personal table reading. What we come away with is a mythology unlike any other: delicate, dimorphous, and endearing beyond measure.