This week, dear spacefan, we reach another milestone in our journey through musical time and space, with our 1200th transmission in the Hearts of Space series. It's taken 35 years.
On these centennial programs, we like to take a retrospective look back at the music we feature, often documentary-style, rather than our normal uninterrupted format. (Of course, if you listen on our web site or with our mobile apps, you can turn off the voiceovers with one click or tap and still hear uninterrupted music.)
This time we focus on the evolution of the electronic and ambient guitar since the 1970s—on Part 1 of a two-part program called SPACE GUITAR SUPERSTARS.
And let's admit right up front that even with two hours, the subject is so extensive that we can't possibly include every artist who's made a contribution: these are just some of the highlights we've featured on Hearts of Space.
Let's first recall that in the mid-20th century musical world of ERIC CLAPTON and JIMI HENDRIX, the electric guitar was transcendent—the lead voice and dominant sound in popular music.
But the confluence of musical innovation, new audio technology, and psychedelic drugs led to an unexpected development: the electric guitar became electronic, and with "effects" the sound of the instrument expanded and de-materialized into a vehicle for travel in virtual acoustic space.
SPACE GUITAR SUPERSTARS (Part 1)... on this transmission of Hearts of Space.
[ view program page ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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