Stephan Micus is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Germany who has traveled the globe for more than half-a-century studying ancient musical techniques and instruments as taught by local masters. Rather than use them to reflect their traditions, he employs an interrogatory process combining instruments from various traditions to create new resonances. Early recordings, such as 1978's Til the End of Time, featured various flutes, guitars, rabab, and vocals. 1994's Athos offered self-penned a cappella chants for 22 voices. For 2013's Panagia, he celebrated the Greek female deity of its title with various chimes, temple bells, multi-tracked vocals, flutes, zithers, and kalimbas. 2017's Inland Sea centered on the nyckelharpa, Micus' first use of a bowed instrument not Asian in heritage. For 2021's Winter's End, he employed the most extensive range of instruments in his catalog, drawn from ten countries and including two he'd never before utilized.