An academic and scholar of Japanese culture and faith, and moreover deeply dedicated to the exploration of Zen Buddhism, MUTEK-circuit regular Nagaya has found the answers, or perhaps more accurately, the right questions to ask. The chiming bells and bowls frequent to Asian sacred music are the key sound source here, most pronounced on Tibetan Philosopher and The Book of Sunken Memory, their lingering tones carrying above the brumous synth haze and intermittent moments of melody and vocal snatches. Patient in their unfolding, the tracks nevertheless proceed with purpose, transcending the mushy superficiality commonly afflicting ambient music, and generating something truly profound, an aural cartography of the search for self-awareness suggested in the title.
