hearts of space | news

PGM 766R "FLOATING GARDENS" : Week of May 29th...

Summer...opens our ears to the sounds of warm weather cultures, where music is still in touch with the rhythms of the natural world. Along with the weather, the body stirs and wants to move to sultry beats, or drift, in the ethereal atmosphere of the tropics.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, sounds of nature and music that floats through your world, as we turn the corner into summer on a program called FLOATING GARDENS.

Music is by ROBERT RICH, JAMES JOHNSON, ELVE, LARAAJI, STEVE ROACH, PETER KATER, and BRUNO SANFILLIPO.

[ view playlist ]      [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 876 "SACRED and PROFANE" : Week of May 22nd...

There's some kind of magic in the unlikely combination of Medieval Latin chants, electronics and sultry female vocals.

Invented by VANGELIS in 1975, it's a sound that caught a huge wave back in 1990 when ENIGMA added dance beats to the mix. Thanks to Romanian mastermind MICHAEL CRETU, it's not only remembered fondly today, it's still evolving in the work of Cretu, as well as other musicians and producers.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we revisit the ethereal beats at the intersection of electronic chill, atmospheric dance music, flamenco, and sacred chant — on a program called SACRED and PROFANE.

Music is by ENIGMA, MYSTERIA, B-TRIBE, CONSTANCE DEMBY, and FALLING YOU.

[ view playlist ]      [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 733R "SPACE GUITARS 6" : Week of May 15th...

Dreamy...twangy...timeless...and deep. Yes, spacefans, it's another installment of our long running love affair with the spatially expanded, dematerialized version of the electric guitar.

Long ago and far away — back in 1985 to be precise — we began a series of programs focused on the reinvention of the dominant popular instrument of our time: the electric, and now electronic guitar.

Let's review: LEO FENDER electrified it in the 1950s, which begat R&B and rock. JIMI HENDRIX and others propelled it into high orbit in the 1960s (emphasis on high). And it was launched into space in the 1970s and '80s, when digital special effects became accessible to ordinary mortals.

On this 25th Anniversary retrospective edition of Hearts of Space, a journey into the infinite echoes of SPACE GUITARS 6. Music is by JEFF PEARCE, HAMMOCK, ADAM SHAIKH & TIM FLOYD, FRIPP & ENO, BARRY CLEVELAND, GURUMANDER SINGH, and DARREN SCHAFFER.

[ view playlist ]      [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

Brief service interruption today to update our server software

We always try to do these things late at night when the minimum number of listeners will be affected. In this case, though, we had to take both our Flash servers offline for about 10 minutes to install new versions of our Flash server and our Flash player software. If you are reading this after the fact, there's nothing to do except enjoy the improved performance.

This is an important maintenance upgrade with the following improvements:

AAC compatibility
We're re-encoding our entire archive of programs and albums in the newer, higher quality AAC+ format. We've begun with the most recent programs first. The 800 and 700 series are online now; the 600 series is being uploaded. The rest of the archive will be re-encoded and brought online over the coming weeks. (We'll post notices here.)  You will hear a better stereo image, and much more natural resolution of solo instruments and subtle sounds. The difference for our remaining dialup users will be huge.

Fewer stream interruptions
We've improved our code so that streams won't be interrupted unless your internet connection actually drops out. This is one of many improvements to streaming stability that we're working on. We hate it when HOS stops!

Prepaid minutes are smarter
Prepaid minutes are now compatible with other Access Plans and may be combined with This Week's Show or Radio Channel subscriptions.

:: SH

Using the HOS Service on Linux OS

This was a bit of a challenge during the Windows Media era (2004-2009), but now that we've moved to a custom Flash player and Flash Media Server, any Linux user with a reasonably standard setup should be fully compatible with both the web and media layers of the HOS service.

Please see the Linux item in our HELP section for details of what you need to run the service on 64 bit Linux systems.

The Sweet Feeling of Success

Big thanks and congratulations, spacefans! We made our goal easily this weekend.
We asked for 1200 Sunday subscribers. Our total as of today is 1339:

531 purchased THIS WEEK SUNDAY recurring, for $12
432 purchased THIS WEEK SUNDAY one time, for $15
360 purchased other subscriptions
  16 equivalent sent donations but didn't want or need subscriptions

We'll say it again: we're th-rilled with the response. Thank you for your support, your loyalty, and your personal stories.

We'll hold our prize drawing in a few days on May 15th. FIFTEEN WINNERS will be drawn from the new subscribers.

• 5 win AAA : ALL ARCHIVE ACCESS for a year, a $132 value.
• 5 win RADIO CHANNEL access for a year, a $72 value.
• 5 win THIS WEEK'S SHOW - Anytime Access for a year, a $24 value.

Safe Journey  ::  Stephen Hill and the HOS Crew

Home Stretch Report 05.10.09

It's the final weekend of our our first-ever subscription drive. For the last month we've actually asked our listeners to help us keep our Sunday online shows free — by signing up for a voluntary $12 a YEAR subscription!

We needed 1200 Sunday subscribers. As of Saturday May 9th, we had lucky 1111. 

We're thrilled with the response. Really! And we're glad we asked, because we've been able to communicate with many of you personally. Thank you for your support, and your stories.

We need just 89 more generous spacefans to support the Sunday show so we can keep it free for everyone else. No problem!  Sign up this weekend and you can win an upgrade to one of our full service plans.

Our $12 a year This Week SUNDAY plan

Cheap is the next best thing to free, so we made a new low cost Sunday-only access plan.
Every new subscriber who signs up for this plan will be entered into drawing on MAY 15th. 
FIFTEEN WINNERS will be drawn from the new subscribers.

• 5 win AAA : ALL ARCHIVE ACCESS for a year, a $132 value.
• 5 win RADIO CHANNEL access for a year, a $72 value.
• 5 win THIS WEEK'S SHOW - Anytime Access for a year, a $24 value.

Win or lose, you can make a real difference to Hearts of Space for only $12 a year.

Safe Journey  ::  Stephen Hill and the HOS Crew

PGM 875 "INDIA EVOLUTION" : Week of May 8th...

The drone...the modal scale...the sinuous, ornamented melodic line. Even without a sitar or a tabla, you know you're enveloped in one of the new Indian-influenced strains of ambient music.

Hundreds of years ago, while Western music turned right at polyphony, harmony, and the equal-tempered scale, Indian classical music continued to develop the old modal system of scales and natural intervals in a vocal-centered, monophonic style.

Where we created chords and counterpoint, monumental symphonies, hymns and songs, Indian music continued to evolve the melodic sophistication of raga, the rhythmic complexity of tala, and the patient pursuit of mood and depth.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the sublime world of Indian ambient and devotional music...on a program called INDIA EVOLUTION.

Music is by PREM JOSHUA & MANISH VYAS, STEVE GORN, BENJY WERTHHEIMER & DAVID MICHAEL, JAI UTTAL & BEN LEINBACH, MATTHEW MONTFORT, MAGIC CARPET, DEVA PREMAL and AL GROMER KHAN.

[ view playlist ]      [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

PGM 874 "DYNAMIC STILLNESS" : Week of May 1st...

The musical panorama connecting the electronic rhythms of our hyperactive culture to the nourishing waves of contemplative space is long, but always worth the journey.

Along the way, the slowing tempo reveals new perspectives at every vista. And at the destination, subtle worlds of infinite dimension and unpredictable insight await.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we flow with the electronic rhythms and sonic currents...on a journey to the threshold of silence called DYNAMIC STILLNESS. Music is by ATOMIC SKUNK, ERIK WOLLO, FRANK VAN BOGAERT, CRAIG PADILLA & SKIP MURPHY, and STEVE ROACH.

[ view playlist ]      [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

END of Windows Media and Real Audio services today

Per our published notice on both our previous generation service sites six weeks ago, today we have discontinued both our legacy services.

A very small number of our most change-averse or technically limited users will be affected by this. Please be asssured that we have done everything in our power to make it possible for you to use our new Flash™ audio based service at our main web site, and will still be more than happy to hold your hand while you jump into the new service. Just email [email protected].

R.I.P. HOS Real Audio service 2001-2009
R.I.P. HOS Windows Media Audio service 2004-2009

Once upon a time ye were young and strong, but time moves fast online.
We'll miss yr can-do spirit, but not the tech support!