hearts of space | news

PGM 1119 'SUMMERTRONICA 7' : july 29 - aug 5

GLIDING IN in on sleek electronic waves, marking time with a subtle four-note sequence, drifting across ethereal atmospheres, and riding off on the solar wind. Yes, spacefans, we've arrived at that timely combination of chilled electronics and the season we call... SUMMERTRONICA.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient electronics to cool your summer, on a program called SUMMERTRONICA 7. Music is by ASCENDANT, ROBERT RICH, BLUETECH, LEMONGRASS, and STEVE BRAND.

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

Dr.Space on streaming music

HERE'S A PIECE I wrote about the state of online streaming. I adapted it from an online discussion group for a blog called Music Tectonics. Thanks to Dmitri Vietze for the invitation.

http://www.musictectonics.com/#!Will-Digital-Streaming-Push-Music-Into-the-Background/cjds/57863ae40cf23020133ba7e2

PGM 1118 'BHAKTI' : july 22-29

Once again we begin with the sinuous notes of the East Indian sitar, played here by ANOUSHKA SHANKAR. Like her late father RAVI SHANKAR, she carries on extending the classical tradition of Indian music in the West, while others do the same for Indian folk and religious music.

Whatever the source, there's a feeling that links these artists: the gentle sense of devotion — to music, and to the Indian spiritual practice called bhakti. Bhakti is love and devotion to religious ideas that engage both emotion and intellect. Like prayer, devotion is quiet, inward, emotional: a movement of the heart.

Today, both Indian and western musicians are bringing an ambient sensibility to the drones and filigrees of Indian devotional music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the sound of spiritual devotion in Indian fusion, on a program called BHAKTI.

Music is by ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, DEVA PREMAL & MITEN with MANOSE, STEVIN McNAMARA, BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, TODD NORIAN, MANISH VYAS, MICHAEL MANDRELL & BENJY WERTHEIMER.

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PEACE CHANNEL Update

THE PEACE CHANNEL

We launched this free channel a week ago at the suggestion of a Texas subscriber in the wake of the terrible incident in Dallas.The response has been overwhelmingly positive—a heartfelt thank you to all who have written and posted acknowledging it.

During the week we added another 29 programs for a total of 50 shows, which means listeners will hear fewer duplicate shows.

We will keep the service free and open this weekend in the wake of the violence in Nice, and now the political chaos in Turkey.

In the long term we are planning to retain the channel for subscribers and further expand the number of shows. 

Unfortunately we live in turbulent times.

 

PGM 955R 'DESERT SOLITAIRE' : july 15-22

Slowly…quietly…dawn overtakes the darkness of the southwestern desert. For those who inhabit its rugged expanses, it's the beginning of a new day and a new cycle of sun, heat, wind and dust — the daily challenges of existence in one of earth's most extreme environments.

No one has written more eloquently about the desert than naturalist EDWARD ABBEY. 
In his classic book Desert Solitaire, he describes the desert as both a physical environment and a state of mind nurtured by isolation. For Arizona musician STEVE ROACH, the desert is a place of "beauty, stark vastness, magnificent vistas and silence" — a space that "provides a more direct path to the deeper self and the source of one's artistic impulses."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore that isolation and introspection, on a journey called DESERT SOLITAIRE. Music is by STEVE ROACH & BRIAN PARNHAM, A PRODUCE & LOREN NERELL, KLAUSE WIESE, STEVE BRAND, and RESONANT DRIFT.

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

THE PEACE CHANNEL

THE MORNING AFTER the mayhem in Dallas we were contacted by a Texas Hearts of Space subscriber, asking if we could offer some free HOS programs to help calm the raw emotions on both sides.

Well yes, we can. We created a special channel called "Peace, be Still."

The name comes from Mark 4:35-41—the story of Jesus calming the raging waters. It contains 31 50 calm, peaceful programs in rotation. Access is completely free, no account or registration is required.

To listen, go to www.HOS.com and click the prominent direct link on our home page.
or
click CHANNELS in the main menu bar and then the PEACE banner.
This loads the channel playlist. One more click on the PLAY button and you can hear up to 12 hours of calm, peaceful Hearts of Space music.

The channel is also available free on our 99¢ iOS and Android mobile apps.

THE PEACE CHANNEL will remain open through the weekend and as long as necessary until things cool down. Only sincere communication and mutual understanding will solve these longstanding problems; a calm state of mind can help create a productive atmosphere for discussion.

Thanks to subscriber OG RICO aka FEDERICO RENDON for the idea and the channel name.

:: The Hearts of Space Team

PGM 1117 'PSYCHETRONIC SUMMER' : july 8-15

PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC was born in the 1960s, a predictable mutation of psychedelic drugs and popular culture. The roots of the word psychedelic mean "revealing the mind" — a revelation that turned out to be both colorful and unpredictable.

Psychedelic music aimed to reveal an expanded version of the mind, using audible distortion and warped perspective, sustained floating textures and drones, fractal repetitions and feedback, liberally seasoned with sounds from nature and exotic cultures, especially India.

As a trend, it ran its course in the 1960s, was revived in the 1970s, quoted lovingly by fashionable bands in the 80s and 90s, and became a core influence on millennial genres like Trip Hop, Shoegaze, Acid Jazz, Acid House, and the many varieties of Trance — to name just a few. We just can't seem to quit it.

Like an aesthetic virus, the pure electronic form of psychedelic music invented in the 1960s and 70s infected musicians using sound as a vehicle for inner space travel and consciousness alteration. In a word: trippy.

Along the way, these sonic explorers found kindred spirits in archaic traditions like shamanism and pagan rituals. What began as free exploration with mind-bending chemicals ultimately became a quest for new modes of perception, psychological therapy, escape from the normal boundaries of self, and at its most extreme — visions and hallucinations at the borders of oblivion. These grassroots experiments paved the way for the massive tribal-Electronic Dance Music festivals of today, with their promise of transcending self through ecstatic group experience.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the altered soundscapes of psychedelic space, on a program called PSYCHETRONIC SUMMER.

Music is by THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON, SCANN-TEC, ISHQ, LIGHTWAVE, FORREST SMITHSON, CYBERNIUM (MICHEL HUYGEN & PASCAL LANGUIRAND), and CSILLAGKÖD.

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

PGM 1116 'HEARTLAND: a Pat Metheny restrospective' : july 1-8

When talking about jazz guitar great PAT METHENY's long and stellar career, two words come to mind above all others: lyrical and versatile. In a genre with a long history of creative guitarists, Metheny stands out for his open-hearted melodic sensibility, and his desire to explore the widest range of musical and technical possibilities.

Metheny hails from Kansas City, Missouri, at the edge of the great plains, and many of his best-loved pieces evoke the softly rolling spaces of the American heartland. His body of work includes compositions for solo guitar, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, large orchestras, and ballet music, with settings ranging from modern jazz to rock, free improvisation to hymns, minimalism to classical.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer REED THORNE, we highlight the lyrical, ambient side of Pat Metheny's music, on a program called HEARTLAND: A PAT METHENY RETROSPECTIVE.

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