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PGM 1182 'FLOWING INTO SPRING 4' : may 25-june 1

Back in 1975, a Northern California steel string guitarist named WILL ACKERMAN began playing and selling cassettes of his music around the Stanford University campus. It was so popular it led to the founding of Windham Hill Records in 1976 — the first big success of the music trend that came to be called New Age Music in the 1980s.

Instrumental, acoustic, and generally low key, Windham Hill literally became the poster child for a grab-bag genre that became ever more unfocussed as it grew—a category for anything that wasn't jazz or folk, rock or pop. But it served a need for quiet, relaxing, meditative instrumental music that continues today.

In time the New Age Music category became so diverse as to be almost meaningless. Home studios, inexpensive publishing on cassette and later CD, meant that anyone could release their music, and the genre's reputation deteriorated to the point that serious producers of atmospheric music called theirs Ambient, Electronic, or just about anything else.

Yet — in the last few years, the New Age genre has seen a critical reconsideration, with carefully curated compilations of historical material, while both veterans and descendants of the genre are creating new music that merits serious attention. A good example is the group FLOW, which includes none other than steel string guitarist WILL ACKERMAN, in a kind of New Age "supergroup."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the vernal breezes into the gentle sound of the season, on a program called FLOWING INTO SPRING 4.

Music is by FLOW, PETER KATER, JIM GABRIEL, MICHAEL WHALEN, MIACHAEL BRANT DeMARIA, CHRIS HAUGEN, TOM MOORE & SHERRY FINZER, and MAJESTICA.

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PGM 1019R 'OCEANIC REALMS' : may 18-25

What's the biggest thing on earth? It's the World Ocean — the total salt water of all the named oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic.

The world ocean is the largest part of the hydrosphere— the system of water, atmosphere and time that gives rise to the water cycle, weather and climate. Over 70% of earth is covered by the oceans, with an average depth of over 12,000 feet. That...is a lot of water. So though we're not an all-ocean planet, we're definitely a water planet.

Everything about the ocean is almost incomprehensibly vast, deep and powerful. Little wonder then, that it's a major inspiration, theme and metaphor for Ambient musicians.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...we journey across oceans of electronic sound, on a program called OCEANIC REALMS. Music is by MEG BOWLES, MOODSWINGS, DAN POUND, MAX CORBACHO, STEVE ROACH, IGNEOUS FLAME, and PATRICK O'HEARN.

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PGM 1181 'CONFESSIONS' : may 11-18

CONFESSION...it's simple in theory: to tell the truth. In practice? It's more complicated.

Confession plays a critical role in the justice system, in religion, in therapeutic and personal relationships. And at a time when the very idea of objective facts and truth is being challenged, confession is more important than ever.

A true confession is a revelation — a release of hidden knowledge. And it's often accompanied by powerful, even cathartic, emotions. No wonder confessional songs and music are found in some of the oldest cultures on earth.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...the quiet sound of emotional truth, on a program called CONFESSIONS.

Music is by ADAM HURST, ELINA DUNI, MIRABAI CEIBA, SAVINA YANNATOU, BADI ASSAD, JOSÉ LUIS MONTÓN, ESTÁS TONNÉ, ANDRÉ GERAISSATI, and AMBERFERN.

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PGM 1180 'FLOATING WINDS : may 4-11

One of the most seductive musical combinations is the soft cry of a wind instrument — in this case, a soprano saxophone — floating high and free above a cushion of electronic sound. It's a combination that brings out the best of its parts: the melodic, emotional expression of the horn; the spacious sonic architecture of an ambient electronic soundfield.

Winds with electronics are relatively new, but the sound of a primitive flute or horn resonating in acoustic space goes back to the cave homes of our earliest ancestors.
It's a formative sound experience in the evolution of the ambient sensibility, revived
in the 1960s by clarinetist TONY SCOTT in MUSIC FOR ZEN MEDITATION, and by flutist PAUL HORN in his classic recording INSIDE THE TAJ MAHAL.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore the happy combination of acoustic winds and ambient electronics, on a program called FLOATING WINDS. Music is by KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, MATT BORGHI & MICHAEL TEAGER, KLAUS SCHULZE (with TOBIAS BECKER), and KIT WATKINS.

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