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PGM 1346 'INDIA NAVIGATION 2' : may 26-june 2

It’s been almost seventy years since the arrival of Indian classical music in Europe and the United States. Starting in 1956, English violinist YEHUDI MENUHIN’s interest in Indian music led to collaborations and concert tours with two of the then hottest young musicians in India—sitar master RAVI SHANKAR and sarod master ALI AKBAR KHAN. It was the beginning of a period of cross-fertilization of Indian and Western classical music. And in the 1960’s, the famous adoption of the Indian sitar by GEORGE HARRISON of THE BEATLES brought awareness of Indian music to the mainstream.

Today, recordings, films, videos, and digital networks have led to a broadening of cultural communication, where influence and interaction occur across many genres simultaneously. Western musicians study Indian microtonal scales, play Indian instruments, and create new hybrid styles—while Indian musicians study western tempered scales, harmony, and orchestration, play electronic instruments, and extend the traditions of Indian music to an international audience.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, contemporary, traditional, and sacred sounds of India, on a program called INDIA NAVIGATION 2.

Music is by sitarists JASDEEP SINGH DEGUN, ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, and NILADRI KUMAR, bansuri flutists MARK SEELIG and VIRGINIA NICOLI, sarod and santur by CHINMAYA DUNSTER, and producer CRAIG PRUESS and the great devotional singer ANURADHA PAUDWAL.

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PGM 1183R 'HYPERTRONIC' : may 19-26

In the fair days of late spring, electronic winds blow warm and steady, while sequencers spin creative rhythms, propelling us into the active days and balmy nights of summer. DJs prepare their sets for the summer festivals, while ambient composers create expansive soundscapes for virtual travel. Attention Spacefans: it's party time.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of technotronic rhythms and ambient atmospheres, on a program called HYPERTRONIC. Music is by S1GNS OF L1FE, MARC HARTMAN, MEES DIERDORP, MARTIN NONSTATIC, ASC, CRYSTAL MOON, LEMONGRASS, ISHQ, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.

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PGM 1345 'THERAPEUTIC MUSIC' : may 12-19

For thousands of years, music has been used for therapy and healing. From the ancient lyre, the harp, and other stringed instruments, to the resonant percussion sounds of bells, bowls, gongs and cymbals, it’s long been known that music has the potential to heal both the physical body, and the psyche.

So it should be no surprise that from the earliest days of New Age music, some artists made claims for the therapeutic, stress-reducing, or healing qualities of their music. Here, language matters: therapeutic and stress-reducing express both the intention of the artist and the function of the music; healing is a much larger claim, more subjective, and much harder to prove.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE—we explore these stress-reducing sounds, and on a program we’ll call (conservatively...) THERAPEUTIC MUSIC. We have selections by English musician ESSIE JAIN, therapeutic music pioneer STEVEN HALPERN, MOSHI MOSHI DESU, MAUREEN-JI & UNIVERSAL SYMPHONIES, Norwegian musician EIRLYS, the Los Angeles duo BIOMUSIQUE, and crystal bowls by TRYSHE DHEVNEY.

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PGM 1344 'GAME SCORES 2' : may 5-12

From humble beginnings as cheap electronic toys in the 1970s, video games have evolved into a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry, second only to television, and bigger than global sports, movies, radio, live and recorded music, audiobooks and podcasting…combined.

Today, video games can be comparable in technical and artistic quality to feature films. Over five decades, the technology developed to support high resolution video and audio, and video game music has become increasingly sophisticated.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE based on awesomely comprehensive music research by guest producers JOHN WEDGEWORTH and HUGUES of the NERD NOISE RADIO video game music podcast—ambient, electronic, orchestral and environmental music from video games, on a program called GAME SCORES 2.

We have music from the soundtracks of ECCO: THE TIDES OF TIME / FINAL FANTASY TEN / 3D MUSEUM / THE LAST STORY / FORECAST CHANNEL / SAMAROST 2 / ZWEI 2 / TWO DOTS / MYST 3: EXILE / OUT OF THIS WORLD / SUBNAUTICA 2: BELOW ZERO / STRAY /NO MAN’S SKY / CONTRADICTION / and MINECRAFT.

It’s another report on the fantastic immersive worlds of video games: GAME SCORES 2...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1145R 'ASIAN WINDS' : apr.28 - may 5

The contemplative music of China and Japan comes from their classical traditions. In both countries, unique string and wind instruments evolved, along with virtuoso playing techniques. Centuries of patronage by the imperial court produced a classical repertoire.

Today, traditional artists continue to perform the classics and create new pieces, while a new generation of multi-cultural and ambient artists create hybrid variations based on the genres. As with the traditional music, the goal is to immerse the listener in a slow, deep, magical soundscape.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the gentle world of Chinese and Japanese contemplative music, on a program called "ASIAN WINDS." Music is by CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, KITARO, YANG YING, ANGELA JUI LEE, ANN LICATER, GARY STROUTSOS, RILEY LEE, YUVAL RON, and MIZUYO KOMIYA.

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PGM 1343 'ELECTRON TRAVELER 5' : apr.21-28

Over a hundred years of electronic music have seen extraordinary innovations, but one thing has remained more or less unchanged: the use of electronic tones and repeating rhythms to navigate the virtual cosmic environment. Whether you call them sequencers, loopers, delay lines or drum machines, these rhythm devices provide the propulsive power for virtual travel to deep space. And when we get there, synthesizers and samplers can create floating, beatless, static tones to help us contemplate the awesome cosmic panorama.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it’s another deep space journey on electronic waves, on a program called "ELECTRON TRAVELER 5." Music is by ASCENDANT, SVERRE KNUT JOHANSEN, STEVE ROACH, RUDY ADRIAN, ISHQ, and JANNE HANHISUANTO.

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PGM 1342 'TRANSONIC 2' : apr. 14-21

"Electro-acoustic"—a clumsy, literal name for an increasingly refined genre of contemporary music.

Of course 99% of the music made by humans over the centuries was made with acoustic instruments, some of which used the most advanced technologies of their time. The rate of change accelerated in the late 19th and early 20th century/ with the invention of telephony, radio, and recording. Along with new electronic instruments, electronics were applied to existing acoustic instruments, resulting in "electro-acoustic" hybrids like the electric guitar.

For a time, this led to a typical progressive versus conservative battle between acoustic and electronic music, but today most recording artists embrace both, and chose whatever instrument or processor gives them the expression they seek.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...it's another journey along the electro-acoustic frontier, on a program called "TRANSONIC 2." 

Music is by "BROTHERS" WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER & TOM EATON, THIERRY DAVID, ROBIN GUTHRIE & HAROLD BUDD, DAVID DARLING & HANS CHRISTIAN, CARLOS DENGLER, ECHO COLLECTIVE with harpist MARGARET HERMANT, and harpist KIRSTEN AGRESTA COPELY.

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PGM 1230R 'TRIBUTE to NOTRE-DAME de PARIS' : apr.7-14

The fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in April 2019 sent shock waves of distress and sadness around the world. You didn't have to be French, Catholic, or even believe in God to feel a profound sense of cultural loss.

Since the 12th century, Notre-Dame has been both a physical monument and a metaphysical symbol of the deepest aspirations and highest artistic values of humankind, at the center of one of the greatest cities on earth. For it to be destroyed would have been an insult to the global spirit, in a world that's already burdened by unprecedented challenges.

When the fire was out, it was clear that it could have been much worse. The spire and most of the oak and lead roof were destroyed and the exterior was badly burned — while the irreplaceable relics, priceless artwork, rose windows, bell towers, and three pipe organs were not seriously damaged. Over a billion Euros have been pledged to rebuild and restore the cathedral — a job that will take decades. Our Lady will rise again in the center of Paris, in all her Gothic magnificence.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from longtime guest producer for sacred and classical music ELLEN HOLMES: A TRIBUTE to NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS.

Sacred music for chorus, strings and organ is by an all-star cast of French composers from the 16th to the 20th century, including MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER, FRANCOIS COUPERIN, JEAN RICHAFORT, PHILIPPE VERDELOT, JOSQUIN DES PRES, ANTOINE BRUMEL, CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS, CESAR FRANK, CHARLES GOUNOD, LILI BOULANGER, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MAURICE DURUFLÉ, and OLIVIER MESSIAEN.

We celebrate the artistic and spiritual legacy of a great cathedral: a TRIBUTE to NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 905R 'RAINING' : mar.31-apr.7

As winter unlocks its icy grip, we enter a transition time energized by the sound of water on the move.  Melting...dripping...flowing...draining......raining.

In spring, water completes a journey that begins in the ocean, ascends to the clouds, falls back to earth, and ends, once again, in the sea. It's one of the core movements in the yearly cycle of life, and a powerful metaphor for the eternal cycles of stasis and flow, contraction and release.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, ambient hydrology for early spring on a program called RAINING. Music is by YAGYA, BIOSPHERE, DAN BARRIO, ROBERT RICH, JEFF PEARCE, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.

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PGM 1341 'A STEVE TIBBETTS CELEBRATION' : mar. 24-31

As we slog wearily but hopefully through the last storm of winter and welcome the transition to spring, it’s a good time to reconsider the music of the singular Minnesota guitarist and composer STEVE TIBBETTS—a man who fully lives the life of an artist, while still being a responsible citizen, a compassionate family man, an entertaining storyteller, an international traveler to the mountains of Nepal and the jungles of Bali—and a serious, open-minded musician.

As you might expect from someone with such broad and diverse experience, STEVE TIBBETTS’ music is multi-faceted, wide-ranging, and absolutely unique. He plays both electric and 12 string guitars in a non-standard tuning, and cites influences from jazz, rock, and world music, as well as his lifelong musical partner, percussionist MARK ANDERSON, and producer MANFRED EICHER of his longtime label ECM Records.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we focus on his more delicate and contemplative acoustic music, on "A STEVE TIBBETTS CELEBRATION."

We'll feature selections from his 2022 ECM Anthology HELLBOUND TRAIN; from his 1984 ECM album SAFE JOURNEY; and from SELWA, his 2004 collaboration with Tibetan nun and singer CHÖYING DROLMA.

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