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PGM 993 'CATHARSIS' : oct.26-nov.2

We owe our Pagan ancestors thanks for their recognition of the special days of late autumn — a time of restless spirits, spawned by all things dark and fear-full.

The advent of the house of Scorpio each year brings the ambient genres of gloom, Gothic, and dark atmospheres to the fore. This music displays a romantic quest for strangeness, a taste for the ominous, and a fascination with death and decay that's appropriate for the fall season, even celebrated on All Hallow's Eve by fans of the macabre, the ominous, the morbid, and the diabolical.

It's a taste that's both aesthetic and cathartic: a willful immersion in our ancient limbic emotions of terror and fear. And (to look on the bright side of a dark picture) a reassuring exercise of our impulse for self-preservation.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...a Halloween experience called CATHARSIS. Music is by CAUL, SCEPTRE, LIGHTWAVE, JOE RENZETTI, HAR, MINGO and BETWEEN INTERVAL.

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

PGM 816R 'BORDERLANDS' : october 12-19

A border can be a boundary...or a grey area — a line of demarcation...or a zone of ambiguity. Borders between countries are political boundaries; they can be the scene of violent confrontation, as in the Middle East, or so remote that few people ever see them.

Outside of politics, a border can be a barrier...or a zone of transition. In music, we often find ambiguous borders between styles and genres — in fact, much of today's fusion music is interesting because it deliberately disregards borders. There's a lot of information...at the borders.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in ambiguous, transitional spaces called BORDERLANDS. Music is by RUSSELL WALDER, EVAN BARTHOLEMEW, DEBORAH MARTIN & J. ARIF VERNER, KIT WATKINS, AMONGST MYSELVES, and RICHARD BONE.

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

PGM 893R 'TOUCHING THE SKY' : october 19-26

The story of contemporary Native American music goes back to 1951 and the founding of Canyon Records in Phoenix, Arizona.  In the almost 60 years since then, traditional forms have been revived, renewed and celebrated, and new styles have emerged from the creative energy of native and western musicians.

From his first Canyon album in 1983, Navajo musician R. CARLOS NAKAI has worked tirelessly to re-establish the Native American cedar flute as an instrument for healing and meditation, extending it far beyond its origins into folk, jazz, country, classical, new age and ambient music. In these new ambient soundscapes, we enter a world of reverence, mystery, and ceremony, haunted by the voices of ancient spirits.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on the new  ambient dimensions in Native American music...on a journey called TOUCHING THE SKY. Music is by JOHNNY WHITEHORSE, DEBORAH MARTIN & ERIK WOLLO, COYOTE OLDMAN, and SCOTT AUGUST.

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

PGM 992 'ANABASIS' : october 5-12

The Greek word "anabasis" means a journey from the outer edge of a country into the interior. It's a perfect metaphor for the innerspace journeys we take with ambient music.

Since the early 1980s one of the masters of this experience has been the Australian/Irish group DEAD CAN DANCE. Their music has been described as "soundscapes of mesmerizing grandeur and solemn beauty."

Led by the dramatic contralto vocalist LISA GERRARD and guitarist and vocalist BRENDAN PERRY, the group has had international success and set the standard for musicians in the creative World Fusion, Gothic and Dark Ambient genres.

Since 1995 LISA GERRARD has also released a series of powerful solo albums and collaborations with musicians PIETER BOURKE, PATRICK CASSIDY and MARCELLO DE FRANCISCI. As if that weren't enough, she's also become an A-list composer of film soundtracks, collaborating with HANS ZIMMER, PIETER BOURKE, ENNIO MORRICONE,  JEFF RONA, and MICHAEL STEARNS.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE we highlight the music of LISA GERRARD, DEAD CAN DANCE and their collaborators, on a program called ANABASIS.

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