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PGM 1397 'AMBIENT TRAVELER 4' : may 16-23

At its core, Ambient is a sensibility — a way of perceiving or sensing the world around us. As a sensibility, it gives us a heightened awareness of our physical and cultural surroundings; as a contemporary music genre, the name may be new, but the music has old, even ancient roots, arising from the discovery that slow tempos, repeated patterns, hypnotic rhythms, and resonant enclosures can alter our sense of time, and transform our experience of space.

The 20th century saw the invention of electronic music, along with technical advances in communication, travel, sound recording, and music distribution—all of which sparked unprecedented exposure to non-western folk, classical, and tribal music from indigenous cultures around the world. In 1987, the European and North American music industry—determined to avoid the confusion and criticism that accompanied the choice of "New Age" for an earlier emerging genre—opted for simplicity and called the entire non-western traditional category "World Music."

In time the World Music genre expanded to include ethnic fusions, crossovers, and hybrids, and the ethereal sounds of Tribal Electronic and World Ambient. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we journey over the high desert mesas, wind-blown dunes, and endless plains of the Ethno-Ambient soundscape, on a program called "AMBIENT TRAVELER 4."

Music is by LAYNE REDMOND & TOMMY BRUNGES, BYRON METCALF & ARI URBAN, SUZANNE TENG & GILBERT LEVY, MARLA LEIGH, STEPHAN MICUS, and ANOUSHKA SHANKAR.

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PGM 0726 'FLOWING INTO SPRING' : may 9-16

SPRING CREEPS IN with delicate leaves and fragrant flowers. The winds sweep through, the rains wash away the accumulated debris of winter, and we bathe in new light and energy. It's a time for music that flows with grace and melody—a confirmation of the release we feel.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the music is fresh and the harmonies are lush...on a program called 'FLOWING INTO SPRING'. Music is by SECRET GARDEN, ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER, NANCY RUMBEL, BILL DOUGLAS, SAVINA YANNATOU & PRIMAVERA EN SALONICO, LEE JOHNSON, and SANCTUARY.

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PGM 1396 'WARMING TREND' : may 2-9

Ahhhh, spring at last. Or is it? Our most anticipated season has a habit of arriving in fits and starts: a few days of temperate glory...and then a chilled rerun of late winter; a sweet day of sunshine and birdsong...and then, a nasty day of cold rain and hail. It breeds a kind of disorientation you feel in your body...and makes you question where you are.

When ambient musicians focus on spring, they're thinking of brighter timbres, more energetic rhythms, and warmer harmonies. Will the weather take the hint? It's a toss-up, but the psychological effect, at least, can be comforting.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...ambient electronics to summon and celebrate spring, on a program called WARMING TREND. Music by ERIK WØLLO, RUDY ADRIAN, STEVE ROACH, ANDREW LAHIFF, AMONGST MYSELVES, TOM EATON, and PATRICK O'HEARN.

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PGM 1108R 'VERNAL TRANSIT' : apr.25-may 2

THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING is, as they say about the future, "unequally distributed." While our friends in the northern states and upper elevations are enjoying a last round of snow, the seasonal transition has been underway here in California for over two months.

Whatever your weather, after the grey skies and dark drones of winter, we're due for some spring spacemusic: light, airy, energetic, ready to venture out and enjoy the world around us. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of sparkling Ambient electronics for spring, on a program called 'VERNAL TRANSIT.'

Music is by ASCENDENT, CONNECT.OHM, STATE AZUR, RAY SAMMARTANO, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, and ISHQ.

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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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