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PGN 1395 'OF SOUND AND SPIRIT' : apr.18-25

THE MUSIC OF EASTER—with its traditional themes of death and rebirth—touches the extremes of the emotional spectrum, from deepest anguish to radiant joy.

Over the past 40 years, Hearts of Space has often celebrated this special holiday with the help of our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music, ELLEN HOLMES. This year, once again, Ellen brings us a collection of sublime choral and instrumental music for Easter, on a program she calls “OF SOUND AND SPIRIT.” 

“Traditionally,” she says, “on Easter Sunday and during the week before Easter—concerts of majestic music are performed all over the world…celebrating the miracle…of life’s eternal renewal. This special Easter program follows that tradition, featuring exceptionally beautiful pieces and performances from ancient to contemporary.”

With music by FRANZ SCHUBERT, HENRIK ØDEGAARD, JORDI SAVALL, J.S. BACH, SIGVALDI KALDALÓNS, GUSTAVE MAHLER, MAX RICHTER, CHARLES GOUNOD, and others. 

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PGM 1374R 'ENCHANTED LANDS' : apr.11-18

Armed with a studio full of synthesizers and powerful production software, many electronic musicians will create sonic images of vast, cold, cosmic space. Others will conjure up infectious sequencer rhythms, and attract a high energy crowd with electronic dance music. Still others, following the great European symphonic tradition, will electrify the orchestra, or create ambient electronic soundscapes.

A smaller group find inspiration in the environment, incorporating the sounds of nature in their music. But perhaps the most unusual are inspired by the supernatural—the worlds of myth and legend, literature and folklore. They create music for spirits, fairies, sprites and elves, wood and water nymphs, elementals, and other invisible denizens of the magic forest.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's a magical journey in supernatural spaces, on a program called "ENCHANTED LANDS." Music is by LEMONGRASS, ISHQ, DESENSITIZED, KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, THE AMNIS INITIATIVE, RICHARD ROSS, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT. 

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PGM 1075R 'DOOR OF SILENCE' : apr.4-11

It takes increasing effort, but if we can just turn away from the political chaos that has overtaken the Middle East for the moment, we can still hear the expression of artistic traditions that have been evolving for over 5000 years.

From source cultures in Persia, Arabia and North Africa come instruments and musical traditions. Today, both native and expatriate artists are working to extend these traditions and adapt them to the world of contemporary music. It's an effort that aims for harmony and understanding in the face of dissonance and division: cultural in the best sense — a human treasure to be loved and shared.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey to the quiet heart of Middle Eastern music, on a program called DOOR OF SILENCE. Music is by MERCAN DEDE, OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK, AZAM ALI & LOGA RAMIN TORKIAN, ANOUAR BRAHEM, and DHAFER YOUSSEF.

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PGM 1394 'AMBIANCE FRANÇAISE : mar.28-apr.4

The story of French electronic music over the last hundred years is one of artistic and technical innovations that changed the course of contemporary music.

The late 19th century stylistic inventions of GABRIEL FAURÉ, MAURICE RAVEL, and CLAUDE DEBUSSY led to the emergence of Impressionism and Minimalism in the 20th century—while the revolutionary innovations of ERIK SATIE laid the foundation for ambient background music and personal music for solo piano.

At the same time, the invention of playable French electronic instruments like the “Ondes Martenot” in 1928, accelerated the arrival of live electronic performance, and the French brilliance in style and design produced exceptionally refined sonic and textural quality in recordings after mid-century.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a look at French ambient and electronic music from the 1970’s to now, on a program called "AMBIANCE FRANÇAISE."  Music is by DEBUSSY via TOMITA, JEAN MICHEL JARRE, THIERRY DAVID, CHRISTIAN WITTMAN, PAUL SAUVANET, and AIR.  https://bit.ly/HOS-1394.

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PGM 1276R 'SIX STRING SPRING' : mar. 21-28

This week we transit the Spring Equinox, the official beginning of spring and a good time to check in on the ambient space guitar. Acoustic or electric, live or sampled, looped or direct, straight up or processed, folk, jazz, or classical — even in the electronic age, the venerable six string guitar continues to make itself indispensable almost everywhere music happens.

Guitarists of the Ambient persuasion take it slow, quiet, and spatially expanded, leaving the virtuosic fireworks to their rock brothers and sisters. Occasionally...a heroic rock guitarist like JEFF BECK or BUCKETHEAD will journey to the contemplative side of the instrument just to do something completely different.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a spacey, twangy, laid-back, subtle, turn-of-the-season journey for ambient guitar — on a program called SIX STRING SPRING. Music is by CHRIS HAUGEN, LISA BELLA DONNA, CLAES NILSSON, CARL WEINGARTEN, BLUE STAR, and TONY GERBER, with PHIL KEAGGY and DREAMHUB. 

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PGM 1393 'DEEP TONES — David Parsons tribute, Part 2 of 2' : mar.14-21

NEW ZEALAND MUSICIAN DAVID PARSONS—in retrospect one of the greatest (though less well-known) world-ambient-electronic musicians—passed away in February 2025 at 80. His recorded legacy is so innovative, extensive, and important, that we are doing a two-part tribute. Last week we repeated our first Parsons retrospective from 2003—"LONG TONES." This week we focus on music from the later years of his innovative musical career, on a program called "DEEP TONES."

Parsons was one of the earliest western musicians to embrace North Indian classical music, traveling to India in the late 1970s to study the sitar with female master KRISHNA CHAKRAVARTY.  Fascinated by the sound of drones and “long tones” in Indian music, Parsons was one of the first to recognize the connection between Indian classical and electronic music, and pioneered popular fusions between the genres.

In the late 1980s he went digital, incorporating samples of ethnic instruments, ambient sounds, and the chanting and ceremonial instruments of Tibetan Buddhist monks into his music. In the 1990s Parsons’ music became deeper, more abstract, and purely electronic. He released a series of albums using only synthesizers and custom electronic sounds he produced from basic oscillators and filters. He said he was trying to create "atmospheric and surrealistic landscapes into which the listener can place their own thoughts and images."

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, "DEEP TONES"— Part 2 of our 2-part tribute to David Parsons.

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PGM 675R 'LONG TONES—David Parsons tribute Part 1 of 2' : mar. 7-14

New Zealand musician DAVID PARSONS had a unique and fascinating musical career. In fact, you probably couldn't make it up if you tried.

Back in the early 1960s, he was a jazz drummer, longing for a more melodic instrument.  Years before The Beatles brought the sitar to pop music, Parsons heard a recital in New Zealand by RAVI SHANKAR. That was it. Inspired to make the sitar his new instrument, he spent three years trying to get one imported into NZ, then 8 years teaching himself to play it. At that point he was ready to get serious!…and he made several trips to India to study with one of the few female sitar masters, KRISHNA CHAKRAVARTY. 

In the late 1970s, fascinated by the sound of drones and long tones, Parsons discovered the connection between Indian music and synthesizers, and began creating electronic-Indian music fusions.  In the late 1980s, he went digital, incorporating samples of ethnic instruments and ambient sounds from his travels in Asia, including the chanting and ceremonial instruments of Tibetan monks.

His record company hired him to document ethnic music, a project that took him to exotic places like Iran, Armenia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, and Malaysia.  Like many of these cultures, his own music is rooted in India—with the melodic construction of the raga, the rhythmic cycles of the tala, and the extended, contemplative space of the alap.  He created dozens of amazing albums, and doesn't read a note of music.

David Parsons passed away in February 2025 at 80. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, part 1 of a 2 part DAVID PARSONS RETROSPECTIVE called "LONG TONES." 

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PGM 1392 'METALLOPHONIC 2' : feb.28 - mar.7

At the nadir of winter, the time of deepest cold and lowest natural activity, the sound of the resonant percussion family of instruments takes on a special appeal. The metallophones—bells, bowls, gongs, chimes, and cymbals—speak eloquently in the chilled, quiet air.

Whether used for religious ceremonies in ancient Buddhist mountain cultures like Tibet; for sound healing and therapeutic work; or for creative experimental music—these instruments have a sublime elegance and power.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, another winter journey for  resonant percussion, on a program called "METALLOPHONIC 2". Music is by SHAWN FEENEY, LAURA INSERRA, HANG MASSIVE, THOMAS BRETT, ED MANN, and KARMA MOFFETT.

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PGM 1068R 'WINTERTONES 2'

The latter days of winter bring a special kind of fatigue mixed with impatience. For residents of snow-crossed parts of the country, winter has begun to overstay its welcome; while here in California, the trees are blossoming, and February feels like spring.

As the sound of the season evolves, music of the far north and Arctic countries still resonates, connecting with contemplative acoustic mainstays like the cello and the piano. From deep minimalist patterns to Romantic melodicism, we find the soul and comfort to endure.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, wintry acoustic spacemusic for the season, on a program called WINTERTONES 2. With Icelandic musicians OLAFUR ARNALDS and HILDUR GUTHNADOTTIR, cellist DAVID DARLING with SYLVIA NAKKACH and JACQUELINE TSCHABOLD BHUYAN, MICHAEL HOPPE & HAROLD MOSES, BRUNO SANFILIPPO, and RALPH ZURMUHLE. 

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PGM 1391 'NORTHERN LIGHTS 5' : feb.15-22

For ambient and electronic artists, the music of the winter season holds a special appeal. Dense drones, chilled harmonies, bright bells and percussion, and the psychoactive power of minimalist patterns — add up to a powerful palette of musical elements.

The small but artistically mighty countries of Scandinavia and the Arctic north produce far more than their share of world-class music across a wide range of contemporary genres and music for film. Nourishing it all is the influence of the extraordinary natural environment: the cold North Sea and volcanic islands, the dramatic coastal mountains and fjords, the vast boreal forests, the visual magic of fog, mist, and snow, and the otherworldly spectacle of the auroras—the famous northern lights.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, wintry ambient from Scandinavia and the Arctic north to Northern California, on a program called "NORTHERN LIGHTS 5." Music is by ROBERT JÜRJENDAL, ERIK WØLLO, PHILLIP WILKERSON & CHRIS RUSSELL, SNOWDROPS, TERJE ISUNGSET & EIVIND AARSET, MARK BANNING (RIP), and JEFF PEARCE.

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