For those unaware, Stephan Micus is a unique musician and composer. He collects and studies instruments from all around the world and creates his own musical journeys with them.

Incredibly, Thunder is his 25th solo album for ECM and its sound is dominated by the four-metre long Tibetan dung chen trumpet, an instrument he has recently learned and is using for the first time.

It was the thunderous sound of this instrument that led to the album’s name and its nine tracks celebrating deities around the world. I dedicate this music to the big family of thundergods around the world, humbly hoping that - when they hear it - their destructive powers will be somehow pacified, he says.

It features instruments - all played by Stephan Micus - from Tibet, India, Burma, Borneo, Siberia, Japan, South America, Gambia, Namibia, Sweden and Bavaria. The album was released to coincide with Stephan’s 70th birthday, this past January 19th, 2023.

1. A Song For Thor
2. A Song For Raijin
3. A Song For Armazi
4. A Song For Shango
5. A Song For Vajrapani
6. A Song For Leigong
7. A Song for Zeus
8. A Song For Ishkur
9. A Song For Perun

On what is a most fabulously sculptured work of musical art, and quite like no other I have personally experienced in the past decade or so, the opening track is the strident A Song For Thor and that is followed supremely by the quiet, ambient effervesce of A Song For Raijin, labyrinthine finger-picking styling is next brought forth on A Song For Armazi, then comes the veritably crystalline A Song For Shango, which is backed by the atmospherically-charged A Song For Vajrapani.

Along next is one of my own personal favorites from this new set, the sweeping, almost earthly-cored A Song For Leigong, which is itself backed by the more intricately-embodied, stirringly-emboldened A Song for Zeus, the recording rounding out on the deliciously pleasing A Song For Ishkur, coming to a close on the delicate musings and orchestrations found within A Song For Perun.

Featured artists:
Stephan Micus - Frame Drum, Dung Chen, Burmese Temple Bells, Himalayan Horse Bells, Ki un Ki, Bass Zither, Bowed Sinding, Kyeezee, Shakuhachi, Sarangi, Nyckelharpa, Kaukas, Sapeh, Voice, Nohkan.

Official Website

Stephan Micus @ Facebook

Official CD Purchase Link