The album's title, Towards the wind, could be taken as a reference to flight - the cover features a lovely photograph of birds in flight, viewed from above, with trees and rivers below as a background. I think the title could also be a reference to the sound of the duduk itself - a sound that, while always an expression of the emotions and imagination and skill of the player, also encompasses a reaching and yearning deep within: striving towards the power and energy of the wind itself, alternately strong and gentle, but always there, always surrounding us. This is one of the few instruments in the world capable of this - and Micus uses it well. The other tracks on the disc hold up just as nicely. He utilizes instruments as varied as the kalimba (a thumb-piano from Africa), the shakuhachi (the bamboo flute from Japan - another wind instrument capable of incredible subtlety and beauty), the dondon (the `talking drum' of Ghana), the sattar (a one-stringed bowed instruments from western China, with ten sympathetic resonating strings), acoustic guitars (including the one designed by Micus and custom-built for him in Spain, capable of varying string arrays), and his unique style of vocals (the words of which he has said `carry no known meaning', but which are so very expressive and lovely). The overall effect is one that Stephan Micus' listeners have come to both expect and revere - he has an ability to take musical traditions from various parts of the world and combine them in a way that, rather than feeling `forced', seems as natural as if one had walked over a hill and found a village immersed in music and song of their own making, untouched by the outside world. The music that Micus makes - and has made for a thankfully long career, over thirty years and seventeen albums - crosses and transcends all borders, and does so with a genuine respect for the cultures that the world contains. His works can be enjoyed by rapt, attentive listening, as an ambient background, or at any level in between. His work is a treasure - and I hope in my heart that he continues it for many years to come. It is one of the greatest musical `gifts' of my life - and I have been blessed to know many - to have discovered and experienced it. I cannot recommend the amazing work of this artist too highly. His music never fails to remind me of the presence of gentle beauty in the world.