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PGM 1218 'MOONTRIBE' : june 21-28

Summer officially arrives on the 21st of June — the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. For ambient musicians, the extra light and heat inspire influences from faraway warm-weather cultures; exotic acoustic instruments, tribal rhythms, and mind-bending shamanic rituals, combined with creative electronics and native soundscapes. It breeds an evolving genre originally called "techno-tribal." Today we call it "tribal ambient" — it evokes atavistic memories of our village past for our digital tribes, and creates a space for virtual travel, even if the body has to stay at home. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer DAVID J. EGAN, a tribal/ambient/solstice journey for summer, on a program called MOONTRIBE. Music is by BYRON METCALF & MARK SEELIG, INVISIBLE RALF, HOLOTROPIC, DANIEL CROMMIE, FORREST FANG, JOEL OLIVÉ, APOLLONIUS & MOMENT2MOMENT, JARGUNA, and MAX CORBACHO.

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PGM 1105R 'ATMOSPHERIC' : june 14-21

If there's one thing that Ambient electronic music excels at creating, it's the experience of floating in space. And when that space is high, light, and airy, we call it atmospheric.

Atmospheres have qualities — elevation, temperature, brightness, color, density, and a wide range of tones. When we immerse ourselves in sonic atmospheres, our normal sense of time seems to disappear: suspended in space, we lose track of time. Einstein probably had a special theory about that.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, an airy, immersive electronic journey, on a program called ATMOSPHERIC. Music is by KIT WATKINS, JACK HERTZ, CRAIG PADILLA, ROBERT SCOTT THOMPSON, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, and DARSHAN AMBIENT.

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PGM 1217 'INDO-TRONICA 3' : june 7-14

The Hindustani classical music of North India was little-known to westerners until the 1960's, when The Beatles famously introduced Indian sitar virtuoso RAVI SHANKAR to their audience and incorporated the instrument into their music. 

The long-necked lute called the sitar and it's bass version the surbahar, other unique Indian string instruments like the veena, the sarod, the sarangi and the esraj, along with the bansuri flute, have gradually become familiar to western listeners in the last hundred years. More recently, the microtonal scales of Indian music lent themselves to being combined with electronic instruments, giving rise to an ambient genre we call Indo-tronic. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the fusion of microtonal melodies, exotic ornaments, and electronic tone colors — on a program called INDO-TRONICA 3.

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PGM 1216 'ADVENTURES IN PSYBIENT' : may 31-june 7

In the fervent, prolific, always evolving field of popular electronic music, genres rise, shine, and set—often with alarming speed. So it's reassuring to know that the relatively long-running streams of Psychedelic and Trance music have embraced the cool sonorities and spatial sound images of Ambient—giving birth to the variously named hybrids Psybient, Psytrance, or just Psy. It's a realm worth exploring. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...what happened when Psytrance Met Ambient—on a program called ADVENTURES IN PSYBIENT. It's a love story.

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PGM 1215 'VERNAL FLIGHT' : may 24-31

Spring has long been the most unpredictable of seasons—these days, more than ever. This week we had a bit of January in May here in Northern California; it was back to boots and raingear. Next week it'll be like high summer. Everything is changing, and the wind rushes in every direction in a futile effort at equilibrium. 

The seasonal winds inspire ambient musicians to create an airy, open music with flutes and electronics, and we can ride the sound currents like birds in search of new frontiers. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an airy, windy, floating journey for spring, on a program called VERNAL FLIGHT.

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PGM 1077R 'WINDS OF CHANGE' : may 17-24

Ahhh, the fullness of Spring! It arrives when we're not looking, concealed by fresh winds, bright clouds, and unpredictable weather. Beneath the superficial chaos beats a steady rhythm, as the natural world acclimates to more light and heat. The flora bloom and change, while the fauna increase their activity after the restrictions of winter. It's a time for production, and reproduction.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space we sound the fullness of spring, on a program called WINDS OF CHANGE. Music is by ERIK WØLLO, ATOMIC SKUNK, ISHQ, FORREST SMITHSON, DAN POUND, YUNOMI, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, and LEMONGRASS.

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PGM 1214 'ANCESTRAL VOICES 2' : may 10-17

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, exotic 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 1213 'PROGRESSIVE AMBIENT' : may 3-10

The "progressive" label is growing, and it has nothing to do with politics. 

In music, the term has a history that goes back to Progressive Folk in the 1930s. After that came Progressive Jazz from the 1940s to the 1970s, Progressive Rock, Pop, and Bluegrass in the 1960s, Progressive Country in the 1970s, Progressive Metal in the 1980s, and Progressive Electronic and Progressive House in the 1990s. Progressive is what happens when a genre has matured, and there's an abundance of highly skilled musicians who want to stay creatively challenged. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...if the progressive label means expanding stylistic and conceptual boundaries and synthesizing cultural influences—then I'm gonna say we're overdue for a genre—and a program—called PROGRESSIVE AMBIENT.

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PGM 1212 'CANTO OSTINATO' : apr.26-may 3

The contemporary classical genre called Minimalism arrived in the middle of the 20th century as a reaction against the rigid avant-garde theories of Serialism, which threw out the tonal center and harmonic systems of a thousand years of European music.

Serialism was intellectually brilliant—unfortunately, the music was ugly, tedious, and unpopular. In the 1960s, a number of American composers including LA MONTE YOUNG, TERRY RILEY, STEVE REICH, and PHILIP GLASS found their way back to tonality, with a style based on "minimal" elements: consonant harmony, static drones or a steady pulse, and slowly changing thematic motifs.

Minimalism looked back and forward at the same time. Unlike Serialism, it was appealing and popular, and was eventually adopted by a number of European composers who've been featured on Hearts of Space, including MICHAEL NYMAN, GAVIN BRYARS, JOHN TAVENER, HENRYK GÓRECKI, and ARVO PÄRT. One that we missed—who must be the best-kept secret in European minimalism—is the late Dutch composer SIMEON TEN HOLT, who died in 2012.

After experimenting with complex chromaticism and serialism early in his career, Ten Holt arrived at his own style of "humanized" minimalism: infused with traditional musical values, rhythmically rigorous, wonderfully melodic, and flexible in performance. His most famous piece, composed in 1976, is called CANTO OSTINATO, which in Italian means "obstinate song," a reference to its continuous, repeating quintuplet rhythm base. Its structure is based on 106 "cells" of a few phrases each which allow great latitude for repeats and interpretation by the performers. The piece can take from two hours to more than a day, and there are dozens of versions for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pianos, pianos plus organ, harp, or marimba, pipe organ, strings, and synthesizer.

The piece has been a phenomenon in the Netherlands for 40 years and hundreds of sold out performances. Despite that, it's hardly ever been performed or broadcast in the U.S. I'm STEPHEN HILL and we're going to help fix that on this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, with a lyrical and rhythmically mesmerizing version for two pianos, performed by the Dutch husband/wife duo JEROEN and SANDRA VAN VEEN. The recording is from one of their live "LIGCONCERT" or "Lying Concerts," where the audience stretches out on mats and blankets on the floor of the venue for two hours of serious listening.

Simeon Ten Holt's CANTO OSTINATO, for two pianos, on this spring transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 763R 'QUIET PRAYERS' : april 19-26

Every year at Easter, we take the opportunity to catch up on the finest sounds in sacred choral music. There's something mysterious and majestic in the sound of voices in harmony. As often in the past, we turned to guest producer ELLEN HOLMES of Adagio Recordings, who brought us a bouquet of sublime pieces from the repertoire. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, our common theme is QUIET PRAYERS. Not only Easter sacred music — but sacred music that sounds right at Easter. It comes from many countries and spans several centuries: from medieval hymns to 21st century art songs. 

QUIET PRAYERS...a sacred choral collection for Easter, on this edition...of Hearts of Space.

Music is by DOBRI CHRISTOV (Sophia Orthodox Choir), JEAN RICHAFORT (Huelgas Ensemble), G.POPESCU-BRANESTI and PAUL CONSTANINESCU (Kontakion Choir), RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (Bulgarian Voices Angelite), ANONYMOUS (Trio Medieval), JOHN TAVENER (Anonymous 4), MORTEN LAURIDSEN (Nordic Chamber Choir), NIKOLAI KEDROV SR.(Kitka), ALEXANDER SHEREMETIEV (Academy Chorus), JOSEF KETCHAKHMADZE (St. Petersburg Chamber Choir), TOMAS LUIS de VICTORIA (Voices of Ascension), PEROTIN (Choeur Gregorien de Paris-Voix de Femmes), GUILLAUME BOUZIGNAC (Les Arts Florissants), MAURICE DURUFLÉ (Corydon Singers), ARVO PÄRT (Hilliard Ensemble and Christoph Maria Moosmann).

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