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PGM 432R 'VANGELIS' : june 24 - july 1

"Out of the chaos of noise," he says with typical modesty, "I function as a channel through which music emerges."

SO POWERFUL is this gentleman's music, that his name on a film soundtrack has marquee value equal to the director or the actors;
SO INFLUENTIAL is his sound that an entire generation of film and television composers have been affected by his style;
SO POPULAR is his music that his records leap musical boundaries and find their way into the collections of thousands of listeners to all categories of music;
SO EXTENSIVE is his talent, that after almost 30 years, he continues to fascinate record buyers, making both enormously commercial and deeply personal albums.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a tribute to Greek composer VANGELIS, who died in May at 79 after a brilliant career as a popular artist and film composer. 

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PGM 1320 'INDO-TRONICA 4' : june 17-24

When the definitive history of cross-cultural musical fusions and hybrids is written, there will be an honored place for the congruence of Indian classical and ambient-electronic music.

Of all the experiments that were attempted after electronic instruments matured to the point of viability in the mid 20th century, this combination was one of the earliest and most successful. Synthesizers expanded the role of microtones and drones in Indian music, while raga and tala—the traditional melodic and rhythm systems of Indian classical music—brought a welcome sophistication to electronic music. It's an area we've explored since the earliest days of this program.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another journey where Indian classical meets ambient/trance, on a program called "INDO-TRONICA 4."

Music is by DAVID HELPLING with NIDHI BHATMULEY and BENJY WERTHEIMER, DAVID PARSONS, WOUTER KELLERMAN & DAVID ARKENSTONE, DJ CHEB I SABBAH, MYCHAEL DANNA, BEN LEINBACH & JAI UTTAL, and AL GROMER KHAN.

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PGM 942R 'CINEMOTION' : june 10-17

In the evolution of cinema, music has been a parallel language, evolving along with the visual and dramatic language of film.

In the beginning it was live accompaniment by piano, orchestra, and let's not forget The Mighty Wurlizter! Then came recorded sound, and film music flowered into dozens of subgenres, from conventional to experimental.

Whether it's a traditional score for orchestra, a vehicle for popular songs, a fusion of western and world music, a dark and twisted electronic journey, or a subtle ambient tone painting — music is there to create context, to energize, to express the internal feeling of the characters — and deepen our emotional connection to the story.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of choice ambient music for contemporary film, on a program called CINEMOTION. Music is by HANS ZIMMER, DAVID NEWMAN, GREG EDMONSON, LISA GERRARD, and RICHARD MARVIN.

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PGM 1319 'SPACETIME' : june 3-10

We can thank Albert Einstein's math teacher for the concept of this program. In 1908 Professor HERMANN MINKOWSKI presented an interpretation of Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity that unified time and the three dimensions of physical space, into a single four-dimensional continuum called "spacetime."

So physicists began with three-dimensional space, added the dimension of time, and came up with four-dimensional space. Ambient musicians have done just the opposite. All music exists in the dimension of time: ambient electronic music lives in time, and creates the impression of virtual space in us.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a four-dimensional journey, on a program called SPACETIME. Music is by GLOBAL COMMUNICATION, LEMONGRASS, TIME TRAVELER, THE GREAT NORTHERN, BLUETECH, S7VEN, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, and ALTUS.

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PGM 1318 'MINIMAL GROOVE 2' : may 27-june 3

It's a marriage that seems preordained: the appealingly simple, tonal repetitions of minimalism, and the ancient, irresistible kinetic energy of rhythmic grooves. A group of experimental, percussion-oriented composers in Europe and the U.S. have recognized the potential of this combination, and set out to create a genre.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...beguiling, time-warping rhythms meet ambient atmospheres, on a program called "MINIMAL GROOVE 2." 

Music is by THIERRY DAVID, NEN, DON LI, REPERCUSSION UNIT, LOOP 2.4.3, MICHAEL JON FINK, and HANG MASSIVE.

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PGM 1317 'TRANSONIC' : may 20-27

Acoustic versus electric: once upon a time it was an issue — infamously with Bob Dylan's plugged-in performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Electric won that round, at least for guitars and popular music. But by the mid 1970's acoustic was back, with the rise of Windham Hill Records and its purist approach to so-called "American Primitive" guitar and piano.

Many innovations have come and gone in the evolution of music since then. We still have purely acoustic folk, jazz, new age, and classical music, but without much fuss, electro-acoustic hybrids have become increasingly mainstream. Acoustic instruments provide a familiar, comforting, organic sound, and support musical expression; electronics expand the subtle dimensions of tone, imagery, and ethereality. Together they make a potent contemporary combination.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore the transition from acoustic to electro-acoustic, on a program called TRANSONIC. Music is by WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER, & TOM EATON, DAVID MICHAEL, WILL ACKERMAN solo, RYAN JUDD, TOM EATON solo, JEFF PEARCE, RUSSEL WALDER, and DAGOBERT BÖHM.

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PGM 1214R 'ANCESTRAL VOICES 2' : may 13-20

All most Americans know about Vietnam is that we fought a long and pointless war there in the 1960s and 70s. Today, if you live on the west coast, more likely than not there's a delicious Vietnamese restaurant in your community. But the ancient cultures, and the music of Southeast Asia and Vietnam in particular, is a mystery to most of us. 

A select group of Western composers and musicians have been drawn to these cultures, along with Southeast Asian musicians who've relocated to the West. They're creating a new fusion of traditional and contemporary music. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...subtle sounds from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia, on a program called ANCESTRAL VOICES 2. Music is by GRAYHAWK, LÊ TỰ CƯỜNG, PEETER VÄHI, RICHARD HOROWITZ, PHAN KIM THÀNH, VANESSA VÕ, LÊ TUẤN HÙNG & ĐẶNG KIM HIỀN, TRÍ NGUYỄN & THE ILIOS QUARTET.

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PGM 651R 'KLAUS SCHULZE: CONTEMPORARY WORKS' : may 6-13

It's been more than 30 years since the German genius for music and technology encountered psychoactive chemistry at the end of the 1960s. The rest, as they say, is history; but when that history is finally written, the name of one musician will dominate the tale.

KLAUS SCHULZE was there from the very beginning, starting as a drummer in a psychedelic rock group, then embracing electronics when the first synthesizers arrived in Germany. He was a member of both of the seminal German electronic groups — Ash Ra Tempel and Tangerine Dream, then headed off on his own — thereby inventing the identity of the solo electronic musician, working in his personal studio to create original music.

Perhaps more than any single composer, he developed a musical language for electronic spacemusic that's become so pervasive and influential, it's now part of the environment. And since the early 1970s, his music has been one of the foundations of the sound of this program.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we bring our long love affair with the music of Klaus Schulze up to date on a program called KLAUS SCHULZE : CONTEMPORARY WORKS.

Long careers in popular music are rare; long and prolific careers are exceptional.  But the output of Klaus Schulze has been so extraordinary that even his most dedicated fans are often overwhelmed.  By 2001, his discography included 35 solo albums, some 36 collaborations, and a group of monumental retrospective box sets, ranging from 10 to 50 albums each.

The new millennium did not diminish his creativity. In 2000, he released a new 10 CD set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS I, and followed it up in 2002 with a 5 disc set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS II.  As you can see, the problem in bringing you Klaus Schulze is not one of supply, but rather, of selection, from an overflowing fountain of new music. 

All the music on this program is taken from CONTEMPORARY WORKS 1 and 2. The deep focus electronic images, the sense of flying, floating, and cruising majestically through space, the soulful tones of the cello, English horn, oboe, and guitar, the entrancing cyclic rhythms –– all combine to make this music a distinctive and satisfying experience. 

Klaus Schulze died on April 26, 2022, at the age of 74. No other artist has had such a profound influence on the sound of contemporary ambient, techno, and trance music.

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PGM 1316 'PLANETARY UNFOLDING' : apr.28-may 6

Popular electronic music was born out of the creative ferment of the 1960s. As a result, it took on some of the character of the cultures from which it emerged. In academic settings, it was dry, intellectual and experimental; in Germany, technical and mechanistic; in France, lush and romantic; in England, it was integrated into Progressive Rock; in the U.S. and Japan, it became part of the commercial record business, with electronic versions of classical works by Bach, Debussy, Satie and Pachelbel. While in California — as you might expect — it was embraced by grassroots psychedelic and spiritual subcultures creating music for a New Age.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, sonic explorers like TERRY RILEY, MICHAEL STEARNS, STEVE ROACH, KEVIN BRAHENY, IASOS, and DON ROBERTSON discovered the power of electronic music to take listeners on virtual journeys across time and space. Soon, an international cohort of electronic musicians—aided by drugs and new instruments—began to create an informal genre of electronic "spacemusic."

A young rock guitarist from Tucson, Arizona named MICHAEL STEARNS became fascinated with electronic music and moved to Los Angeles in 1975 to be part of the emerging scene. He learned to program synthesizers, started an independent record label, and began releasing his own music in 1977.

In 1981 he produced a classic of California electronic journey music called PLANETARY UNFOLDING. Long out of print, it was remastered and re-released by Projekt Records in 2022. Combining early analog synthesizers with natural ambient sounds, ethereal chorales, and powerful electronic effects, it's a profound journey across time and space.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we feature PLANETARY UNFOLDING in two continuous "sides" (remember sides?) with an interlude by MICHAEL STEARNS from THE SOFT TOUCH OF MORNING LIGHT, and complete the hour with additional music by MICHAEL STEARNS from WITHIN: THE NINE DIMENSIONS.

MICHAEL STEARNS' PLANETARY UNFOLDING...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1315 'ECSTATIC RHYTHMS 2' : april 22-29

The Turkish-born, Montreal-based musician MERÇAN DEDE has long been a mainstay of our Middle Eastern ambient programs. In a world of hyper-conservative Islam that bans music entirely in some countries, Merçan Dede is a member of the diaspora of Middle Eastern artists who've reluctantly abandoned their homelands in search of personal and creative freedom.

Deeply influenced by the spirituality of the mystical Islamic sect of Sufism, his fusion of traditional acoustic sounds of the Middle East — the ney, the kanoun, the saz, and the oud (plus the Western violin) — with rhapsodic vocals and electronic soundscapes powered by the infectious rhythms of the darbuka hand drum — has brought him many awards, appearances at major world music festivals, film scoring work, and collaborations with other important artists.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE — the microtonal melodies, trance-inducing rhythms, and electronic ambience of Middle Eastern music you can trance to...on a program called ECSTATIC RHYTHMS 2. We feature MERÇAN DEDE, plus Persian-fusion from ZIKR PROJECT, LOGA RAMIN TORKIAN and MAMAK KHADEM.

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