Whenever Stephan Micus introduces a new instrument into his peaceful arsenal, he makes sure to let it speak for itself. Thus, Inland Sea breaks new ground in the opening track, “Haze,” which pairs the balanzikom, an obscure seven-stringed lute from Tajikstan, with the better-known nyckelharpa. In “Sowing Wind,” he matches the shakuhachi with the chord zither, a 68-string instrument of his own design. Other strings (“Dancing Clouds”) and choruses of his duplicated voice (“Virgen de la Mar”) round out the mix, treading the line between light and dark, if not also life and death.