hearts of space | news

PGM 947 'ETHEREA' : may 27-june 3

Pythagoras was the ancient Greek philosopher who taught that the cosmos is constructed of spheres, and that air or a transparent mist called aether was the arche or substratum of everything — thus the word archetype.

In 19th century Victorian science, the luminiferous ether was a medium for the propagation of light. In the early 20th century, the Theosophists and Rosicrucians theorized an etheric plane — a nonmaterial level of reality above the physical plane.

When applied to music, ethereal means subtle, airy and light; immaterial and weightless. It's a word often applied to electronic music, where the sounds are not produced by physical instruments and have an abstract, immaterial quality.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we push off from the bright spaces and watery sounds of spring, journey into rarified realms of light and space, and return to verdant images of spring — on a program called ETHEREA. Music is by KUUTANA, MOTIONFIELD, ISHQ, JEFFREY KOEPPER, and AMONGST MYSELVES.

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

HOS Android App now available!

If you searched the Android Marketplace for the long-awaited Hearts of Space app in the last few days, you were probably surprised to find it there! 

We put it up last week without announcing it because a last minute issue came up in testing, and we were concerned it might cause problems for our Android users.

A few of our testers told us that it was taking an unusually long time to do the initial installation of the app — up to four and half minutes. In no case did the app fail to install, and it loaded fast and worked perfectly after it finished. It just took too long to get going.

Since then, around 75 people have downloaded the app and no one has reported the problem. Either they are very patient people, or what we were seeing was a "device-specific" problem. In any case, our programmer is working on a revised version of the app with a different initial setup sequence, which should end the problem for good. He's promised it in two weeks.

So Go Forth and Download, dear spacefans. The HOS Android app awaits you. See our Android special plan page for details.

ONE MORE ISSUE WE'VE HEARD ABOUT

For one early user the app failed to download completely after he bought it. This problem has nothing to do with the HoS Android app, but rather with the Android Marketplace app delivery method.

The Android mobile platform is still fairly new so issues like this apparently aren't that unusual. Many people have the same problem on a number of different Android devices including several reports on various HTC models.

Google recommends several methods to solve this problem, quote:

"You may occasionally see downloads get caught up on your phones. However, this is often a temporary connectivity matter.
Some troubleshooting tips include :

1) activating Google Talk
2) performing a soft reset or
3) using the "Force Stop" option to stop the download and then resume it again."

Here's one user report:

"I had the same problem even after I did a hard reset. I then went and activated Google Talk and ... Viola!
Not only did the download function start working, it allowed me to go back and re-download all my purchases!"

To activate Google Talk, you must have a Google account.

=    Open the browser on your Android phone and go to http://www.google.com
=    Sign In to your Google account
=    Tap on My Account
=    Then tap on Mobile - this opens a page with lots of Google mobile apps including Google Talk
=    Tap on the Google Talk icon -t he Google Talk page will load.
=    Tap on the "Launch Now" button - it may ask you to Sign In again (security)
=    Once you've activated Google Talk, go back to the Market.
=    Search for the Hearts of Space app - it should start downloading and installing.

If you have any other problems no matter how small, just email [email protected]. We love to help folk use our apps!

:: SH

PGM 946 'TIMESCAPES' : may 20-27

The phenomenon of time is an enduring mystery. Our greatest philosophers and physicists speculate about it. Some say time is as linear as the atomic clock; others say time is a subjective illusion, an artifact of the spinning of our bio-systems.

Like fish in water, we live immersed in time. Along with death, taxes, and change — time is one of life's inevitables. Time rules us. As mortal creatures, we can't avoid it, so we seek ways to outwit it.

From cosmetic surgery and life extension by cryogenics, to ecstatic experiences fueled by extreme states and recreational drugs, we seek the timeless: the place where time stands still — or at least slows down enough for us to enjoy it.

One of the best (and certainly the least dangerous) ways of getting closer to the timeless is ambient music. With its long cycles,  repetition, and slow-breathing modulations, it invites us into timeless space, destination free.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space....another hour of timeless, deep-drifting ambient atmospheres, on a program  called TIMESCAPES.

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

PGM 945 'CARESSING THE NIGHT' : may 13-20

The Iranian expatriate singer AZAM ALI became a mother later in life, which allowed her a mature view of the relationship between mother and child. Singing to her son in the softness of night, she reflected on the role of lullabies as a bridge between generations — and a bridge of understanding between cultures.

For lullabies have always been a more than simply a way to induce sleep. A kind of secret language of words and music riding on invisible waves of communication, they reflect the panorama of emotions: joy and sadness, frustration and triumph, pain and pleasure, hope and dreams — and a range of subjects from personal to political.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a collection of Middle Eastern lullabies and dreamy instrumentals expressing love, loss
and longing — and touching the heart of compassion — on a program called CARESSING THE NIGHT.

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

PGM 910R 'CLOUD OF PROMISE 2' : may 6-13

Ambient music can evoke subtle feelings, take us on journeys, and create soundscapes in our imagination — sometimes all three at once.

Take this introduction: start with the sound of distant gulls and soft bells, add floating voices, electronic ornaments, resonant harmonics, and a slow pulse. As we follow the sound, we find ourselves in another world.

That's the thing: today's electronic music delivers more information than before. In addition to the classic trio of melody, harmony and rhythm, we now have the dimension of space or ambience. And in our diverse, electronically connected world, we can merge sounds, styles and instruments from other cultures into our music — a gesture that says "respect"...without words.

This week on Hearts of Space, more high information electronica for the season, on a program called CLOUD OF PROMISE 2. Music is by ATOMIC SKUNK, MOTIONFIELD, NEMESIS, TRISTAN FELDBAUER & FRIENDS, KUUTANA, BRUNO SANFILIPPO & MATHIAS GRASSOW.

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