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PGM 1172R 'THE TRANSCENDENT PIANO' : sept.30-oct.7

With its bell-like high notes, rich bass tones, subtle touch dynamics, and endless chordal, melodic and rhythmic possibilities—the piano is indispensable for many genres of contemporary music. In the history of the national Hearts of Space program, we've done more than 50 shows focused on the piano. The guitar may be the world's most popular instrument, but for range, versatility and personal expression, the piano takes the prize.

When played with sensitivity and imagination, the acoustic piano alone is capable of taking us into rarified spaces. Today in Europe, a new generation of classically trained, technically creative and musically talented Ambient musicians are exploring minimalist trance patterns, combining the piano with traditional chamber instruments, extending it with electronics, and transporting the instrument into new dimensions of contemplative sound experience.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a program of recent discoveries called THE TRANSCENDENT PIANO. Music is by NILS FRAHM, MAX RICHTER, ANGUS MACRAE, DUSTIN O'HALLORAN, DMITRI STÖKL, KAI SCHUMACHER, STEN ERLAND HERMUNDSTAD, and BRUNO SANFILIPPO.

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PGM 1326 'RECESSION 3' : sept.23-30

As the sun sinks below the equator and into the southern hemisphere, what used to be an orderly transition from summer heat to autumn cool is now disrupted by extreme weather events. Seasonal changes have become more unpredictable, and we must learn to navigate the new reality of our intensified climate — droughts, heat waves, mega-fires, monsoons, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, and a new class of superstorms are all on the menu, bringing new challenges to a changing world.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a fond look back on those formerly gentle seasonal transitions, on a late summer/early autumn journey called RECESSION 3. Music is by DAVID HELPLING, ERIK WØLLO, MEG BOWLES, IAN BODDY, and STEVE ROACH.

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PGM 1325 'HANS ZIMMER's SCORE FOR DUNE' : sept. 16-23

Of all the great science fiction of the 20th century, FRANK HERBERT's 1965 novel "DUNE" has been perhaps the most enduring and successful, giving rise to five sequels by Herbert, nine additional novels, and a committed world-wide audience. It was prescient in its visions of future politics, religion, ecology, technology, and the power of women in society.

After two unsuccessful attempts to film the novel by directors ALLEJANDRO JODOROWSKY and DAVID LYNCH, and a Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, in 2017 a new film version was commissioned by Canadian director DENIS VILLENEUVE with music by HANS ZIMMER, which went on to win six Oscars.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we devote the entire program to HANS ZIMMER's magnificent score. Synthesizers, solo vocals and chorus, world-winds and percussion, newly invented instruments, and influences from North Africa and the Middle East, create a powerful organic-electronic world described by Zimmer as "retro-futuristic."

Hans Zimmer's academy award-winning score for DUNE...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1157R 'ENDLESS SUMMER' : sept.9-16

Summers...are famously long and hot, and in the superheated days of late summer, time seems to expand in front of us. And it's not just because it's the season for natural disasters — we're back to school and back to work, packing new activities into our schedules while memories of summer fun still linger in our minds. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, languid guitars, ethereal electronics and subtle rhythms for the season, on a program called ENDLESS SUMMER.

The title comes from a classic 1966 surfing documentary, but it's been repurposed hundreds of times. We'll do the same, from a concept and music research by guest producer DAVID J. EGAN. Music is by DIATONIS, MATTHEW STEWART, LEO ABRAHAMS, BJORN MEYER, TONY GERBER, EIVIND AARSET, HAMMOCK, and BYLA.

Laidback, expansive ambient guitars for the season: ENDLESS SUMMER...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1223R 'ELECTRONIC DIMENSIONS' : sept. 2-9

The transition from 'electric' to 'electronic' was one of the great technical achievements of the 20th century. Electronic engineering emerged out of the telephone, radio, film and television industries, and military communication and weapon systems during World War II. The earliest devices for creating electronic music actually date from the end of the 19th century. By the 1920s and 30s we had compact, playable electronic instruments like the Russian Theremin, the French Ondes Martenot, and the German Trautonium. 

Development of recording technology led to experimentation with record players and tape recorders to manipulate sound and create new kinds of music. Electronic music expanded exponentially in the 1960s and 70s with the arrival of practical electronic synthesizers, fueling an era of explosive creativity. Today electronic music extends from mainstream dance music to experimental noise, with literally thousands of sub-genres, and an unlimited palette of sounds and creative possibilities. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the infinite tone-worlds of electronic space, on a program called ELECTRONIC DIMENSIONS. 

Music is by FOURTH DIMENSION, BLUETECH, ESKOSTATIC, BETWEEN INTERVAL, SCOTT LAWLOR, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.

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PGM 983R 'SUMMERTRONICA 5' : aug. 26-sept. 2

Does a season have a sound? ANTONIO VIVALDI obviously thought so, and THE FOUR SEASONS remains one of the most popular classical pieces of all times. So did electronic music pioneer WENDY CARLOS, who created SONIC SEASONINGS, the first album of synthesized environmental sounds, all the way back in 1972.

What's the sound of summer for the ambient musicians of today?  Well first, it's warmer: languid, even sultry; it's lighter, more airy. From heat waves to gossamer breezes, cooling ocean sprays to the nighttime cricket chorus, in summer — save the occasional thunderstorm, tornado or hurricane — we inhabit a kinder, gentler soundscape.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we round up a flock of warm weather electrons and fly the blue skies of summer...on a program called SUMMERTRONICA 5. Music is by DAN POUND, GENERAL FUZZ, MARCONI UNION, ISHQ, S7VEN, and BVDUB.

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PGM 1324 'WEST AFRICAN SPIRITS' : aug. 19-26

For the almost 40 years we've been producing Hearts of Space, our mission has been to bring you "Ambient, Space, and Contemplative music from around the world and across the centuries."

We've done it in dozens of countries and musical genres. Yet despite its rich and influential musical culture, we've only managed to create a handful of programs of the music of Africa. And within Africa, the music of West Africa and its signature instrument, the 22-string harp/lute called the kora—stands out for its melodic beauty and charm.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer DAVID J. EGAN, we focus on the gentle joy of West African music and the kora, on a program called 'WEST AFRICAN SPIRITS.' Music is by RODERICK McLEOD & VINOD PRASANNA, AYUB OGADA, SONA JOBARTEH, STEPHAN MICUS, SEBATIERRA, ABLAYE CISSOKO & VOLKER GOETZE, and DEREK GRIPPER.

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PGM 1072R 'HYPNOTRONIC' : aug. 12-19

Back in the late 18th and early 19th century, a German doctor named FRANZ MESMER had a far out theory about energy transference between animate and inanimate objects. He called it "animal magnetism."

A Scottish doctor named JAMES BAIRD developed the idea and called it "nervous sleep" or "neuro-hypnotism," and later just "hypnosis." The word comes from the Greek hypnos for "sleep" and osis "to put to sleep."

These days, thanks to the American Psychological Association, we have a formal definition of hypnosis as "a state of consciousness created by 'hypnotic induction' and characterized by relaxation, focused attention and increased suggestibility, with alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior." Others define it as psychological regression, dissociation, or an altered state of functioning.

However you define it, hypnosis has a lot in common with ambient music, which also creates a relaxed state with focused attention. Whether it causes increased suggestibility and altered perception...well, that's up to you.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, electronic music for mental alteration, on a program called HYPNOTRONIC. Music is by ORCHESTRA SOLITAIRE, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, THIERRY DAVID, HOWARD GIVENS & CRAIG PADILLA, A PRODUCE, PHILLIP WILKERSON, STEVE ROACH, and VIC HENNEGAN.

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PGM 1323 'TRIBAL AMBIENT REVISITED' : aug. 5-12

The timeless sound of prehistoric hand drums, brought to the present with space-defining ambient electronics. In the 1980s, elements of ancient indigenous music were embraced by electronic musicians searching for an earthy, vital sound to balance the dematerialized tones of electronic instruments, ground the atmospheric soundscapes of ambient, and gain the power of ritual experience.  

The genre was originally termed “Techno-Tribal,” but as the Techno label became associated with electronic dance music, it was renamed “Tribal Ambient.” Today, the period of discovery is long over, but a core group of electro-acoustic artists with a taste for psychedelic experience and a talent for rhythm, continue to refine the sound and release new albums.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, another report from the creative intersection of tribal rhythms and ambient electronics, on a program called TRIBAL AMBIENT REVISITED. Music is by BYRON METCALF, FRORE & SHANE MORRIS, STEVE ROACH & MICHAEL STEARNS, SERENA GABRIEL, BIFF JOHNSON, and REMANENCE.

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PGM 1322 'PHRYGIAN PHANTOMS' : july 29-aug. 5

In traditional music, a mode is a set of notes or tones that go together to create a distinctive, culturally valued ethos or character.

Modes go back to ancient Greece, and have been redefined over the centuries. In Greece the 5th harmonic minor mode was originally called the Dorian or Aeolian mode, and later the Phrygian mode, inspired by the passionate people of the kingdom of Phrygia in the wild Anatolian mountains of modern day Turkey. It was part of the modal music system of the Medieval Catholic church; and in the folk and classical music of Spain, the Phrygian dominant mode is known as the “Spanish gypsy scale,” because it’s found in Flamenco, and the hypnotic Berber rhythms of North Africa.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we return to the distinctive sound of the Phrygian mode as it echoes down the centuries to the contemporary Spanish-Moorish soundscape, on a program called 'PHRYGIAN PHANTOMS.' Music is by guitarists MILOŠ, OTTMAR LIEBERT, ADAM HURST, BENEDETTI & SVOBODA, JOSÉ LUIS MONTÓN, and the fusion group AL-ANDALUS.  

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