Towards the Wind

In the late 1990s, musical nomad Stephan Micus encountered an Armenian double-reed flute known as the duduk. With the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) it shares a fundamental emphasis on the breath that gives it life. Unlike the shakuhachi, the duduk is rarely played alone. As a vessel for “Padre” (dedicated to Micus’s father, Eduard, who died during the album’s recording), it needs no accompaniment. Fellow travelers on the album include kalimba, guitar, dondon (West African talking drum), and the bowed strains of the sattar. As much a song for those yet to be born as for those who have passed.