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PGM 1020R 'SUFI SOUL 2' : aug. 26-sept. 2

THERE'S HARDLY ANYTHING MORE CONTROVERSIAL THAN ISLAM these days, but there's one branch of Muslim culture that by philosophy and practice is peaceful and apolitical. Even so, it has been subject to persecution by other sects.

The mystical, inward-facing order of Sufism goes back to the very beginning of the Islamic religion in the 8th century. It has parallels to the venerable traditions of Buddhist and Hindu mysticism, and aims for direct union with God by purifying the heart.

The work of the Persian Sufi poet RUMI has achieved worldwide popularity for its beauty and insight, and a body of Sufi music evolved to accompany religious practices and meditation — the most famous being the whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order in Turkey. It's a genre that's not only alive today, but producing new strains of contemplative music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the gentle, passionate world of Sufi-influenced music on a program called SUFI SOUL 2. Music is by MERÇAN DEDE, NIYAZ, HANS CHRISTIAN, YUVAL RON, OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK, MICHEL BANABILA, ELIYAHU SILLS, GARY STROUTSOS, and CHRISTOFFER HYLANDER.

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PGM 1018R 'SYMPHOTRONIC RHAPSODIES' : aug 19-26

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.

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PGM 1120 'KORA CONNECTION' : aug 12-19

You can tell right away that this isn't going to be your typical Hearts of Space program. As part of our summer world music programming, we're going to West Africa, and the joyful sound of the 21 string harp-lute called the kora. It's an instrument that embodies the softer side of African folk music, attracting both native and western players with its unique combination of melody and rhythm. We also have music from Madagascar for the tubular zither called the valiha.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a program called KORA CONNECTION. Music is by ABLAYE CISSOKO, TOUMANI & SIDIKI DIABATE, BALLAKE SISSOKO, RAJERY, ERICK MANANA, DAVID GILDEN, WILL RIDENOUR & BETSY BEVAN, and DANIEL BERKMAN.

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PGM 626R 'ARCHETRIBE' : aug.5-12

According to musician MATTHEW DAVIDSON, an archetribe is "an inherited pattern of thought derived from past collective experience — and present in the unconscious of people sharing some kind of culture."

When it comes to what we now call "world music," the archetribe is a sense that ethnic, folk, and tribal musics all over the world have a great deal in common. And musicians today also have a common technology for recording and working with sound. These powerful commonalities are breeding a new kind of musical language — global minded, respectful of the past, but oriented toward the future.

On this edition of Hearts of Space we explore that language, on a program called ARCHETRIBE. Music is by MARS LAZAR, ALIAS ZONE, KODO, GREEN ISAC, LAYNE REDMOND & TOMMY BRUNJES, SKIN TO SKIN, RICHARD BONE, ROBERT RICH, and ARCHETRIBE.

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