hearts of space | news

PGM 1110 'FLOWING INTO SPRING 3' : apr.29-may 6

SPRING EMERGES from the cold grip of winter, slow and subtle at first, then unpredictable. The weather changes daily, the light grows stronger, the trees bud and blossom, and the natural world awakes, while melting water begins its long journey back to the sea. Humans move with more energy, and Ambient composers create images of flow.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, Ambient electronica for the season, on a program called FLOWING INTO SPRING 3.  Music is by HAMMOCK, STRATOSPHERE, CHANDANAM, ANOTHER FINE DAY, MIRRORING, ELUVIUM, TIME BEING, ALIO DIE & SYLVI ALLI, and WILLAMETTE.

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

PGM 802R2 'ARGUABLY POST-AMBIENT' : april 22-29

WELL, SPACEFAN, this time it's a fresh collection of psycho-acoustic experiments from Norway, Switzerland, England, California, Ohio, Vermont, and not least: mighty little Rhode Island.

The textures are mostly electronic, but acoustic sounds still play a big role. In many cases, you really can't say what the sound is...and that's the point. We're living in an inter-national, supra-cultural, technically-enhanced music matrix, and the results are diverse beyond imagination.

Genre names don't last long in this creative environment. A few years ago, we'd have called this show electronica or ambient, but today some of the artists would object if we did. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we'll look for a congenial harbor amongst the creative flux. Let's just call it ARGUABLY POST-AMBIENT.

Music is by ROBIN GUTHRIE & HAROLD BUDD, TIM STORY, GREEN ISAC, TRISTAN FELDBAUER, AURAH, KIT WATKINS, and DAN BARRIO.

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

PGM 1109 'INDO-TRONICA 2' : april 15-22

THE EXOTIC TWANG OF THE SITAR—an Indian string instrument derived from a much older Hindustani instrument called the veena. Influenced by the Persian lute called the setar, 
it was modified and renamed in the 16th century by musicians in the Mughal court. 
By the 18th century the sitar had become a mainstay of Indian classical music.

Introduced to the west in the 1950s by RAVI SHANKAR and others, and briefly popularized by the BEATLES in the 1960s, in the 1970s the sitar encountered something completely new: the electronic synthesizer.

Electronic instruments and studio techniques opened up and modernized the sound of Indian music; while Indian classical music inspired western musicians to try a completely different system of musical creation, based on drones, microtonal scales, and improvisation on pre-composed melodic ragas and rhythmic talas.

It's hard to say whether the Western or Indian system dominated the encounter; today we enjoy a healthy cross-fertilization of digital technology with Indian musical instruments and traditions. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another report from the intersection of Indian music and electronics, on a program called INDO-TRONICA 2.

Music is by AL GROMER KHAN solo and with KAI TASCHNER, MANISH VYAS, and BENJY WERTHEIMER.

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

PGM 1108 'VERNAL TRANSIT' : april 8-15

THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING is, as they say about the future, "unequally distributed." While our friends in the northern states are enduring a last round of snow, the seasonal transition has been underway here in California for over two months.

Whatever your weather, after the grey skies and dark drones of winter, we're due for some spring spacemusic: light, airy, energetic, ready to venture out and enjoy the world around us. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of sparkling Ambient electronics for spring,on a program called VERNAL TRANSIT.

Music is by ASCENDENT, CONNECT.OHM, STATE AZUR, RAY SAMMARTANO, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, and ISHQ.

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

PGM 1043R 'EXPANSION' : april 1-8

AHHH, THE ADVENT OF SPING. It arrives in fits and starts...a few warm days punctuated by brisk winds and unpredictable storms. In March, we pass the spring equinox and have a bright new season. The trees bud and blossom, and the natural world stirs and awakes. After the constriction and enclosure of winter, it's a time to stretch, breathe deep, and expand.

The Ambient soundscapes of the season are brighter, bolder, larger, with a sense of possibility, even hope. The long winter is past, the joy of spring and the blissful days of summer are at hand.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the vernal soundscape, on a program called EXPANSION. Music is by DAVID HELPLING & JON JENKINS, PATRICK O'HEARN, JOHN LYELL, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, PHILLIP WILKERSON, HAR, and HAROLD BUDD.

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