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PGM 1018 'SYMPHOTRONIC RHAPSODIES' : july 26-aug 2

Once in a while something comes along that defies categories, or creates a new one.

That's a good description of the work of the multi-talented San Francisco composer and producer eO, short for ERIC OBERTHALER. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we're going to bring you a generous helping of his 2011 pocket masterpiece "River Through an Open Door."

eO calls it an "epic odyssey...of the symphotronic, Balkan-spiced, triphop-meets-steampunk, glitchfolk variety." As you'll hear, that's not much of an exaggeration. It's a brilliant gene-slicing of Greek, Mexican, Turkish, Gypsy, Balkan and Klezmer influences, set in a trippy symphonic/electronic/ambient soundscape. We'll put it together with some kindred Downtempo and Ambient, and call this program SYMPHOTRONIC RHAPSODIES. Music is by ERIC OBERTHALER, MIKTEK, NORTHCORE, LUMIN, NELSON FOLTZ & TOM LYNN, and JEFF OSTER.

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

PGM 1017 'SOLAR WINDS' : july 19-26

In summer, the energy of the sun seems more intense. But the sun is a nuclear furnace that never stops, and the sun's corona is so hot that high energy particles there reach escape velocity, flying into space at over a million miles an hour in a stream called the solar wind.

Made of ionized atomic particles and magnetic fields from the sun's corona, the solar wind is spun into a spiral as the sun rotates every 27 days. Here on earth, variations in the sun's magnetic field carried by the solar wind create auroras — the northern and southern lights — the plasma tails of comets, and geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...another interstellar journey on electronic waves, on a program called SOLAR WINDS. Music is by JOHN LYELL, BROEKHUIS, KELLER & SCHONWALDER, MEG BOWLES, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, CRAIG PADILLA & ZERO OHMS, HOLLAN HOLMES, and NIMANTY & SOLARSOUL.

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

PGM 1016 'CHORDOPHONICS : july 12-19

Let's consider, gentle listener, the chordophone family of musical instruments. It's a large, diverse brood including almost anything with stretched strings: zithers, lyres, harps, lutes, guitars, the violin family, hundreds of ethnic string instruments like the Japanese koto and the African kora, and not least — keyed zithers like the harpsichord and the piano.

Chordophones can be plucked, strummed, bowed, keyed, or struck. Looking back in time, zithers, lyres and harps were the foundational instruments of the chordophone family. They were used in antiquity to accompany recitations and promote healing.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the soft strings of the harp and zither to a place close to silence, on a program called CHORDOPHONICS. Music is by PETER STERLING, HARP 46, LYSA LYNNE, DA WO's, HAROLD BUDD, CYMBER LILY QUINN, KLAUS WIESE, and LARAAJI.

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PGM 918R 'HEAT WAVES : july 7-13

With record temperatures all around the northern hemisphere this summer, there's no escaping the fact that our environment is getting warmer. As the mercury creeps toward 100 in almost half the US, whether you're in the desert sunbelt, the western plateau, the stormy plains or the simmering cities, hyperthermia is the new normal, and we all need to get good at living with the heat.

A nice cold drink with a touch of mint is the classic solution, and of course, there's a trip to the air conditioned mall or the local pool — but for comprehensive relief, we also need music that soothes the mind and cools the blood. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we aim to provide that...with an hour of ambient electronica for midsummer, on a program called HEATWAVES. Music is by PAUL ELLIS, NATURAL FREQUENCIES, DAN POUND, AGITATION FREE, PALANCAR, DAN BARRIO, STEVE ROACH, and STEVE BRAND.

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