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PGM 1258 'SIX STRING UNIVERSE' : aug.28-sept.4

In stressful times, we seek the comfort of the familiar, the predictable, the tried and true. And in music, that often means returning to the joys and pleasures of the acoustic guitar. It's not just the foundation of what JOHN FAHEY memorably called "American primitive guitar;" in addition to its role accompanying singers, as a solo instrument it's a rich vehicle for personal expression, creative innovation, and contemplative immersion.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we touch all those possibilities, on a program called SIX STRING UNIVERSE. Music is by CHRIS HAUGEN, FLOW, ALEX DE GRASSI, RICHARD OSBORNE, MATTHEW MONTFORT, and CLAES NILSSON.

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PGM 1257 'VISIONS OF INFINITY' : aug. 21-28

Let's talk about electronic music. As with acoustic instruments, we have freedom of expression with the core musical variables: melody, rhythm, tempo, and harmony. But we've gained the ability to create the tone, the timbre, the character, and even the spatial dimension of the electronic sound. In fact, the space or ambience of the sound becomes a fundamental artistic choice. Electronic music can create "soundscapes"—immersive images of virtual environments.

Unlike the literal sound images of acoustic instruments, these electronic images can be deliberately amorphous...boundless...endless...unlimited. They can imply vast, fluid, diffuse, virtual spaces, whose dimensions are perceptually infinite.

We can even make this quality the subject of the music, and call it "spacemusic"—a descriptive term that arose organically in the early days of popular electronic music. Today, ambient-electronic artists are creating sonic images of infinity—endless virtual spaces we can expand into, bathe in, savor, and explore.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the quest for unlimited spaces in electronic sound, on a program called VISIONS OF INFINITY. Music is by DEEPSPACE, STEVE ROACH, KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, MAX CORBACHO, and JEFF PEARCE.

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PGM 1146R 'HELIOS' : aug.14-21

Let's hear it for The Sun, ladies and gentlemen. It's impossible to think of anything more important—to our very existence, our history, our evolution, and our future as a species. So it's a big subject: the sun is responsible for super-basic stuff like day and night, the year, the weather, and the climate. It's the key to almost all life on earth, the source of all our energy (one way or another), the key ingredient in everything we eat, and the indispensable element in our vacations. I mean, who wants to vacation in the rain?

Astronomically speaking, the sun is our home star, a member of the "yellow dwarf" class. It's 4.6 billion years old, over a hundred times bigger in diameter than earth, and weighs 330,000 times as much, despite being 98% hydrogen and helium—two of the lightest materials in existence. The sun is a bright sphere of superheated plasma; at its core is a nuclear furnace, where fusion of hydrogen atoms creates temperatures of almost 30 million degrees Fahrenheit, while the surface of the sun is a relatively balmy 10,000 degrees. We're 93 million miles away, and it still feels hot! 

The sun has been central to many human cultures and religions since prehistoric times. It's been worshipped as a deity and celebrated in myth, art and literature, especially in ancient Egypt. Those days are gone, but ambient electronic artists are still inspired by it. On this transmission of Hearts of Space...a tribute to the sun and its season, on a program called HELIOS.

Music is by SOLAR FIELDS, AES DANA, STEVE ROACH, ISHQ, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, ERIC WØLLO, MAX CORBACHO, and HOLLAN HOLMES.

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

PGM 1256 'TECHNO-TRIBAL' : aug 7-14

Centuries ago, a music emerged out of the world's deserts and tribal cultures. It was built on trance-like rhythms and the most primitive instruments: flutes, rattles, and drums. Against all odds, in the late 20th century elements of this ancient indigenous music were embraced by electronic musicians searching for an earthy, vital sound to balance the dematerialized tones of electronic instruments, and ground the atmospheric soundscapes of ambient.

Their quest led to a hybrid electro-acoustic genre originally called "techno-tribal" and later "tribal ambient." In retrospect, it was part of a wider movement ethno-botanist TERENCE McKENNA famously termed The Archaic Revival. Why would a sophisticated, technologically advanced culture want to revive an ancient, supposedly primitive one? In an era where our experience is increasingly mediated, artificial, and virtual — we seek authenticity, direct experience, and a deeper connection to our environment, our history, and our inner worlds.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient electronics meet flutes, rattles, drums, and drones, on a journey across the desert mesas, wind-blown dunes, and rocky plains of the tribal ambient soundscape called TECHNO-TRIBAL.

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