hearts of space | news

PGM 1055R 'ROMANTICO' : july 3-10

It's been a while since we did a program on the music of the America to our south. It's a whole continent, after all, and the scope and variety of music from the distinctive cultures of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil is enormous.

Whether it comes from the mountain cultures, the grasslands, the rainforest, or one of the great cities; is based on influences from the native Indians, or from Spain or other European countries — the music of South America has a depth and passion all its own, and genres like Tango have created fans around the world.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the soul and space of South American music, on a program called ROMANTICO. Music is by OSCAR REYNOLDS, INKUYO, TRIO GARUFA, GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA, ASTOR PIAZZOLLA, STEPHAN MICUS, DINO SALUZZI, and EGBERTO GISMONTI.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1252 'AMBIENT COOL 3' : june 26-july 3

As this strange and unprecedented summer rolls on, it's a good time for us to resurrect one of our older, prematurely abandoned series of programs devoted to AMBIENT COOL.

What, you may ask, is Ambient Cool? Well, it's a sound and an attitude that traces back to the iconoclastic contemporary trumpet player JON HASSELL—and to the cool jazz of MILES DAVIS before him. Hassell advocated what he called "Fourth World" music, a timely and inevitable fusion he described as "a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques." Playing microtonal Indian ragas on his electronically processed trumpet is a prime example.

It all came together, as these things have often done, under the tender guidance of producer and Ambient Godfather BRIAN ENO, with Hassell's 1980 album Fourth World, Vol.1: Possible Musics. In fact, Brian Eno is the common link and creative touchstone for all the artists in this program. Lay it back, stretch it out, and let it float — and you have the recipe for Ambient Cool.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the effortless galleries of Ambient Cool, on a program called AMBIENT COOL 3. Music is by JON HASSELL, ROBERT FRIPP & BRIAN ENO, and ALEX HAAS & BILL LASWELL.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1251 'MUSIC for QUIET MOMENTS' : june 19-26

Despite a career in contemporary music that began in the legendary days of the 1960s, the brilliant English guitarist, composer, bandleader, innovator and collaborator ROBERT FRIPP has never become as famous as his friend BRIAN ENO—another brilliant Englishman Fripp worked with on several influential proto-ambient and pop records in the 1970s, with artists like DAVID BOWIE, BLONDIE, PETER GABRIEL, DAVID SYLVIAN and others.

Fripp co-founded the seminal progressive rock band KING CRIMSON in 1968, and has been its principal guitarist and fearlessly innovative leader through over 50 years of on-again, off-again activity. As a prog rock guitarist, Fripp can fill arenas with massive walls of sound, but he's also a student of the teachings of the Armenian mystic philosopher G.I. GURDJIEFF, and has a more cerebral, contemplative side.

Through his work with Eno, Fripp developed an analog looping system he called Frippertonics. Looping repeats musical phrases with a delay and layers them on top of themselves, turning musical fragments into continuous streams of sound. When combined with Fripp's sophisticated guitar technique, Frippertonics has produced a series of refined electronic soundscapes.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the sublime soundscapes of ROBERT FRIPP, on a program called MUSIC FOR QUIET MOMENTS. We'll feature the first four releases in a projected series of 50 weekly installments available online at Fripp's website DGMLIVE.com for exactly 99 cents each.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1250 'DIVINE SURRENDER' : june 12-19

It's been over 60 years since western musicians began taking Indian music seriously. And no wonder — it's so completely different from western music, it might as well have come from another planet.

Nevertheless, beginning in the 1950s, Indian classical musicians led by RAVI SHANKAR and ALI AKBAR KHAN, established a dialog with European and American classical artists like violinist YEHUDI MENUIN, and in the 1960s, famously with pop artists like GEORGE HARRISON of the BEATLES.

The last 40 years have seen creative cross-fertilizations in many genres, from film music to rap, folk music to ambient electronic. At the same time, the emotional devotion at the core of Indian music has taken hold in the west with the bhakti tradition of devotional chant, bhajan and kirtan.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the slow, sensuous sound of Indian devotional chants and ambient instrumentals, on a program called DIVINE SURRENDER. Music is by AL GROMER KHAN, HANS CHRISTIAN, MARK SEELIG, CRAIG PRUESS, BEN LEINBACH, and RAGANI.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 980R 'MELLOTRONIC' : jun 5-12

Ahhh, the sweetness of early summer, the balm of warm breezes, the pollen, the allergies. It's a good time for electro-acoustic music with gentle rhythms, soft harmonies and seductive melodies. In a word, something "mellotronic."

Now, historians of electronic instruments will tell you that the Mellotron was a tape-based, polyphonic, sample-playback keyboard, developed in England in the early 1960s. The instrument achieved classic status for its key role in popular albums by the Moody Blues and the Beatles, and brought violin, cello, brass, flute and choir sounds to innumerable albums from the Progressive Rock era.

These days, every laptop can be a sampler, the original Mellotron sound is a menu choice, and the orchestration of electronic music is open to all. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we revisit the romantic-contemplative side of ambient electronica, on a program called MELLOTRONIC. Music is by PATRICK O'HEARN, LUDOVICO EINAUDI, THIERRY DAVID, CRAIG PADILLA, MICHELE IPPOLITO, and FRANK STEINER, JR.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1249 'ETHEREAL ELECTRONIC' : may 29-june 5

In the early 20th century, the Theosophists and the Rosicrucians theorized an ethereal plane—a nonmaterial level of reality above the physical plane.

When applied to music, ethereal implies subtle, light and airy, immaterial and weightless. It's a word that's often used to describe electronic music, where sounds are not produced by physical instruments and have an abstract, immaterial quality. This music can take us to virtual spaces and imaginary worlds.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, synthetic journeys on the subtle planes, on a program called ETHEREAL ELECTRONIC. Music is by NICHOLAS GUNN, DAVID ARKENSTONE, GILES REAVES, KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, PAUL AVGERINOS, BING SATELLITES, IASOS, and ERIK WØLLO.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1248 'SIX DEGREES OF AMBIENT' : may 22-29

FOR DECADES, globalization has been a fact of life. And even before Covid-19, it was becoming controversial. Now, with critical supply chains being disrupted by the pandemic, we're having a bit of a rethink. Whatever happens with global trade, one thing is certain: the global exchange of music, film, art and media is a cultural fact of life that will remain as vibrant and creative as ever.

San Francisco is the home of Six Degrees Records, a company that's been dedicated to crossing musical borders since 1996, with the provocative slogan "everything is closer than you think." They live the idea, releasing a wide range of traditional and progressive music from around the planet.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an Anglo-American ambient journey, on a program called SIX DEGREES OF AMBIENT. Music is by ANOTHER FINE DAY, TOM MIDDLETON, BOB HOLROYD, TOM GREEN, HALFTRIBE, ANDREW HEATH, DARSHAN AMBIENT, JEFF PEARCE, RICHARD NORRIS, and MARK ISHAM.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1213R 'PROGRESSIVE AMBIENT' : may 15-22

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.

[ view program page ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1247 'DEEP SERENITY' : may 8-15

The relentless pace of the modern world just had a global reboot, and the reason wasn't even human. It's beyond ironic that it took a rogue microbe to force the world to take a time out. Sheltered in place, working from home, reaching out with video and electronic messages, we're moving toward a world that's going to be slower, more limited, and less intense than before. After that, who knows? We might like it better.

For ambient and contemplative musicians, speed—or to use the musical term—tempo, has always been an artistic choice. And for centuries, a select group of them have chosen to make music that's slow, quiet, and heartfelt. If it sounds better than ever these days, it's because we need it.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey from serene to introspective, on a program called "DEEP SERENITY." Music is by FLOW, PAUL WINTER CONSORT, AUKAI, GINA LENEÉ, KATHRYN KAYE, TOM EATON, PATRICK O'HEARN, and DAVID NORLAND.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 1246 'DRIFTING IN SILENCE' : may 1-8

Flying.   Drifting.   Floating.
Three kinds of virtual movement we find in ambient music.

Flying...is moving through space with speed, purpose, and destination.
Flying is active.

Drifting...is horizontal. You surrender to prevailing forces and let them move you.
Drifting is passive.

Floating...is vertical. You hang suspended, neutrally buoyant, in equilibrium with gravity.
Like drifting, floating is passive.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we drift wide and quiet, on a program called DRIFTING IN SILENCE. Music is by DRIFTING IN SILENCE, MASSERGY, CLIVE WRIGHT, STEVE ROACH, PHILLIP WILKERSON, VIR UNIS, JOHN FOXX + HAROLD BUDD.

[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]