AWARE The book of wind

Aware aka Alexander Glück presents this startlingly impressive collection of music as you would read a story, albeit one without a definitive ending. Each track blends seamlessly into the next telling as each composition does via its title beginning with: so he got up and ate and drank, then leaving you at number fourteen, and went out. These charming soundscapes evolve courtesy of your speakers in a most thrilling way if you value the words mood, music, ambience. Funny, but I don’t you could describe any single piece as a favourite – except perhaps the tearing melancholy of, but god was not in the storm – however The Book Of Wind merits and demands listening to in its saturated, blissful entirety.MAGAZINE SIXTY

The first release by Johannes Malfatti is described as inspired by geological processes which are slow and on another scale in respect of the event commonly perceivable by human senses. This approach of time closely resemble the late Morton Feldman but, instead of working on a time scale which is difficult to manage by the listener's memory, he works on sound structures which are simpler to decipher i.e., drones, and working on details which require a certain concentration to be appreciated. The piece start quietly with the introduction of the main drone which will slowly evolve until the end of the track but, under this static canvas, a series of other sound events e.g., samples, other drones and even field recordings, or so they are perceivable, appears so it's something as a detailed landscape which is covered by a thick mass of fog; at first sight, there's only the perception of the fog but, after a little adaptation, the figures in the background appear. This is true until the clock marks the first half of the track which, after an interlude closely resembles a field recording on snow moved by wind, there's a return to the form of the first half of the track and, when the drone starts to develop, the underlying interlude reappears to introduce the final part for sustained tones of synth which close this release with a development on timbre and volume. This release has two faces: the first one is that is compositionally a little too derivative from his models to be effective in the realization of his ambitious goals. The second one is the impressive craft in the sound construction which let all the details arise in the audial spectrum. Only for fans of minimalism and reductionism.CHAIN DLK

Aware unveils his long-awaited Glacial Movements debut today, February 28th. The Vienna producer has released 14 tracks of aural serenity in the form The Book of Wind LP, and they make for a fitting addition to the Italian label’s Arctic-inspired body of work. The titles of each single on the effort tell a cryptic mythological tale when read in order of listing. Each consecutive song showcases a different iteration of Aware’s solitary style of composition, slowly transitioning while atmospheric elements paint a vivid mental picture in the listener’s mind. Aware is the moniker of Alexander Glück, who writes monographs in the field of philosophy. The deliberate and symbolic nature of his music suggests that it’s an extension of his other works – and given the ambient genre’s more patient fan base it shows merit as a cross-discipline expression.DJBIOS

Aware est le nom du projet d'Expérimental Drone / Ambient d'Alexander Glück. Né en 1983, il a étudié la philosophie et la physique à Vienne, où il vit maintenant. En dehors de la musique, il écrit des monographies dans le domaine de la philosophie. Ces concepts tournent autour du mysticisme chrétien, du bouddhisme et de la poésie cosmologique dont son dernier ouvrage "Poesie des Kosmos" sorti en 2016. Il veut croire qu'un jour, venu de nulle part, un humain, un animal, ou un extraterrestre produira accidentellement les bons sons dans le bon ordre, et que tout à coup, tout le monde sera sauvé, pour toujours. Découvrez ci dessous son nouvel album "The Book of Wind" il doit être vu comme une collection de courts essais qui n'atteignent jamais leur but, mais qui disparaissent dans le grand rien, à quoi ils appartiennent. Il sort aujourd'hui via Glacial Movements. Le mastering est de Christoph Amann au Amann Studios à Vienne. L'artwork est une photo de Bjarne Riesto et le layout est de Rutger Zuydervelt.scholomance

Impalpabile come il vento, animato dal sublime della contemplazione di infiniti spazi naturali e interiori: così è la musica di Alexander Glück, alias Aware, artista austriaco pervenuto alla composizione ambientale a esito di un percorso concettuale che lo ha visto attraversare discipline e strumenti espressivi in apparenza lontani, eppure accomunati dallo spirito di una ricerca individuale e universale. Da tali premesse ideali, adeguatamente corredate da riferimenti concettuali, traggono le mosse le quattordici tracce di “The Book Of Wind”, vero e proprio condensato di purezza ambientale applicato a sconfinati orizzonti fisici e mentali. È questo il trait d’union che ha avvicinato Glück all’etichetta romana Glacial Movements, la cui estetica di isolazionismo ambientale trova nel lavoro una declinazione estremamente lieve, immaginifica, coinvolgente. La stessa abbagliante immagine naturalistica di copertina suggerisce un’idea di incontaminatezza perfettamente rispecchiata da una sequenza di tracce di durata contenuta, alle cui atmosfere sospese e lentamente avvolgenti è piacevole abbandonarsi in una quiete decompressa, solo occasionalmente screziata, che non offre risposte bensì lascia gli approdi delle sue derive aperti ai livelli della percezione individuale.MUSIC WON'T SAVE YOU

Glacial Movements is an Italian record label, known for their focus on cold, desolate and isolating releases. The new release, The Book of Wind by AWARE adds a layer of philosophy and theology to this template of frozen soundscapes. AWARE deliver one of the most relaxing and emotional releases on Glacial Movements with a grace and attention to detail that will be immediately noticeable to the listener. The Book of Wind centers on the concept of using sound structures to invoke a sense of oneness with the godhead. This is not to be confused with ritual ambient. The sounds here are anything but that. The theory is that certain combinations of sounds, crafted just right, though probably by accident, may bring the entirety of mankind to a sense of enlightenment. There is also a philosophical concept presented here which is borrowed from the studies of Simone Weil, who believed that only downward motions were real, conversely ascension constitutes illusion. Feelings of sadness and joy are two faces of a similar structure of emotion. The Viennese musician Alexander Glück, the man behind AWARE, uses a combination of these philosophical principles, field recordings and looped musical samples to take the listener on an inward journey. The result is a serenity of emotion. Listeners may easily fall into this music, delving deep into their inner consciousness. The sounds are certainly melancholic and introspective. The gently evolving drone-work matched with field recordings from nature display a sense of being in a small isolated cabin, deep in the wilderness, contemplating one’s own existence. AWARE describes The Book of Wind as “a collection of essays which never reach their goal, but vanish into nothing, to which they belong.” This is a very apt description of the music. As a whole, the album consists of track names which, when read as one, convey a short poem, or piece of religious scripture. The entirety of the album indeed has an incomplete feel. This gives the listener a hunger for finding the deeper meaning, a thirst for repeat listening sessions. Each replay is able to evoke a new emotion or uncovers a new aspect of the soundscape. The entirety of the album melts into an intermingled whole, where no one track truly stands out above the rest. On the surface this seems to be some shortcoming on the part of AWARE, but in fact, it achieves its goal in simultaneously opening the mind of the listener, yet never giving them a total fulfillment or closure. The length and ephemeral impact of the music makes for a highly enjoyable and replayable album. After dozens of play-throughs, a sense of boredom or repetition never rears its ugly head. The music stays pristine. It gives a sense of longing. Solitude. An attempt to describe any one individual track would be pointless, as the album constitutes a single entity. There is a life in the music which is undeniable. Given the sparse use of beautifully detailed field recordings, the album truly comes to life for the listener. I would recommend The Book of Wind to any fan of ambient, dark ambient or drone music that finds contentment in staring out the window upon a lonely, rainy landscape. Anyone who finds an equal sense of beauty and melancholy in the natural world around them will be drawn into the embrace of AWARE. As usual with Glacial Movements releases, there is more than meets the eye with The Book of Wind, and one must experience it for themselves to truly understand the impact.THIS IS DARKNESS

Another guy recording under an alias for the Glacial Movements label is Alexander Glück, whose nom de studio is Aware. He’s a philosopher of religion as well as a composer, and The Book of Wind consists of glitchy, abstract instrumental meditations on a passage from the 19th chapter of the Book of Kings. Here the Glacial Movements aesthetic is more purely expressed: the sounds Aware produces aren’t exactly frigid, but they can be quite chilly, and while there are definitely pitches involved there’s little that could reasonably be characterized as “melody.” But the sounds are quite lovely and sometimes even moving. Both albums are recommended to libraries that collect modern and experimental music.CD HOTLIST

Reading the titles given to the chapters of The Book Of Wind is revealing. They sound like an excerpt from a biblical tale, as though recounting Moses and his encounters with God. What they actually appear to be is the beginning of inspiration for this album by AWARE, the alias of Alexander Glück. Like his Glacial Movements label mates he operates largely without obvious rhythm and is free of a harmonic base, but responds to the imaginary text using vivid sound pictures. What’s the music like? The tale is told through music that is barely anchored to the ground, existing in a cloud that changes in consistency, density and colour. The 14 excerpts vary in mood and reach a natural apex in the storm halfway through. As the music builds towards this there is a bigger scale strongly implied by the powerful third track until he reached the mountain, while a powerful storm tore the mountains apart has almost visible clouds. Gradually the music subsides and reaches a softer place of rest by the end, the last track and went out dipping to almost inaudible levels before hints of earlier music return. Does it all work? Yes, although the music itself is not quite as varied as the track titles imply it will be. It is a very impressive piece of writing though, the sections hang together very cohesively and the wide scope of the mountain and inclement weather are dominating features. Is it recommended? Yes, on the whole, once the lasting emotional power is harnessed.ARCANA FM

Finding a fixed point to discuss ambient music is always a challenge, but this project by Alexander Glück offers some guidance with the titles to these 14 track of quiet, introspective numbers. Way back in the Old Testament there’s an interesting passage that points out God is not in the spectacular displays of thunderstorm or earth quake, but rather in the quiet whisper of the breeze. Gluck takes that idea and presents some of the quietest, smallest and most relaxing noises possible. Tracks run together; and you’ll not catch the difference between “Until He Reached the Mountain” and “But God Was Not in the Fire” without looking at the track list. An occasional chime sounds a lowly note, a synthesized voice emits a slowly modulated aspiration, and the sound and fury implicit in track names like “A Powerful Storm Tore The Mountain Apart” and “After The Earth Quake Came A Fire.” While they sound like a lead story on CNN they aim to relaxing and generate reflection. This is ambience, pure and simple and quiet. Breathe it in, and contemplate your own salvation.INK 19

Das ist eine Schublade, auf die sich Labels wie das Italienische Glacial Movements sogar aktiv beziehen in einer seriellen, themenbezogenen Covergestaltung, Namensgebung und Inhaltsbeschreibung. Das Debüt des Österreichers Alexander Glück alias Aware, The Book Of Wind (Glacial Movements), macht da eine partielle Ausnahme wie schon der supersüße Polarfuchs im Winterfell auf dem Cover andeutet. Schon Frost und Isolation, aber nicht nur. Der Klang des Albums ist definitiv noch innerhalb der Genredefinition, aber wärmer, humaner und organischer als üblich.GROOVE (DE)

Background/Info: Aware is solo-project set up by Alexander Glück. He studied philosophy and physics in Vienna (Austria) where’s he’s located. This is the de but album of Aware, which is meant as ‘a collection of short essays which never reach their goal, but vanish into nothing, to which they belong.’Content: The concept behind the music sounds more complex then the music properly speaking. The front cover showing a young wolf in a snow landscape perfectly stands for the sonic experience. It’s not that cold, but a truly evasive sensation, which feels a bit like symbolizing the immensity of the landscape. The compositions are somewhat mysterious, but always prosper. I perfectly imagine some cuts reworked and adapted with classical instruments.+ + + : I like the relaxing sensation emerging from “The Book Of Wind”. It feels comfortable and when you close your eyes you feel transported throughout an endless and quiet universe. This is a total ambient experience, which however features noticeable little sound treatments and great stereo effects. This is an album with a strong visual aura.– – – : Glacial Movement here experiments with a more ‘classical’ format of ambient music. So I can imagine some adherents of the darker ambient genre will not be exited listening to Aware. Speaking for me it was a relaxing experience, but maybe a little less monotonous after a while. Conclusion: “The Book Of Wind” is an invitation travelling throughout your inner self and simply getting aware of all beautiful images your brain might produce. Best songs: “But God Was Not In The Earthquake”, “But God Was Not In The Storm”, “So He Got Up And Ate And Drank”.Rate: (7).SIDE LINE