hearts of space | news

PGM 1316 'PLANETARY UNFOLDING' : apr.28-may 6

Popular electronic music was born out of the creative ferment of the 1960s. As a result, it took on some of the character of the cultures from which it emerged. In academic settings, it was dry, intellectual and experimental; in Germany, technical and mechanistic; in France, lush and romantic; in England, it was integrated into Progressive Rock; in the U.S. and Japan, it became part of the commercial record business, with electronic versions of classical works by Bach, Debussy, Satie and Pachelbel. While in California — as you might expect — it was embraced by grassroots psychedelic and spiritual subcultures creating music for a New Age.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, sonic explorers like TERRY RILEY, MICHAEL STEARNS, STEVE ROACH, KEVIN BRAHENY, IASOS, and DON ROBERTSON discovered the power of electronic music to take listeners on virtual journeys across time and space. Soon, an international cohort of electronic musicians—aided by drugs and new instruments—began to create an informal genre of electronic "spacemusic."

A young rock guitarist from Tucson, Arizona named MICHAEL STEARNS became fascinated with electronic music and moved to Los Angeles in 1975 to be part of the emerging scene. He learned to program synthesizers, started an independent record label, and began releasing his own music in 1977.

In 1981 he produced a classic of California electronic journey music called PLANETARY UNFOLDING. Long out of print, it was remastered and re-released by Projekt Records in 2022. Combining early analog synthesizers with natural ambient sounds, ethereal chorales, and powerful electronic effects, it's a profound journey across time and space.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we feature PLANETARY UNFOLDING in two continuous "sides" (remember sides?) with an interlude by MICHAEL STEARNS from THE SOFT TOUCH OF MORNING LIGHT, and complete the hour with additional music by MICHAEL STEARNS from WITHIN: THE NINE DIMENSIONS.

MICHAEL STEARNS' PLANETARY UNFOLDING...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1315 'ECSTATIC RHYTHMS 2' : april 22-29

The Turkish-born, Montreal-based musician MERÇAN DEDE has long been a mainstay of our Middle Eastern ambient programs. In a world of hyper-conservative Islam that bans music entirely in some countries, Merçan Dede is a member of the diaspora of Middle Eastern artists who've reluctantly abandoned their homelands in search of personal and creative freedom.

Deeply influenced by the spirituality of the mystical Islamic sect of Sufism, his fusion of traditional acoustic sounds of the Middle East — the ney, the kanoun, the saz, and the oud (plus the Western violin) — with rhapsodic vocals and electronic soundscapes powered by the infectious rhythms of the darbuka hand drum — has brought him many awards, appearances at major world music festivals, film scoring work, and collaborations with other important artists.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE — the microtonal melodies, trance-inducing rhythms, and electronic ambience of Middle Eastern music you can trance to...on a program called ECSTATIC RHYTHMS 2. We feature MERÇAN DEDE, plus Persian-fusion from ZIKR PROJECT, LOGA RAMIN TORKIAN and MAMAK KHADEM.

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PGM 1107R 'AN EASTER CELEBRATION' : april 15-22

THIS WEEK Christians around the world observe the Easter holiday, remembering the epic story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The powerful themes of death and rebirth, and the related celebrations of Holy Week, give the event a depth and majesty that mark it as the most important Christian festival of the year.

As you'd expect, Easter has inspired some of the most sublime and exalted music of the Christian tradition. On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer ELLEN HOLMES, choral and instrumental classics from across nine centuries of Christian sacred music, on a program called "AN EASTER CELEBRATION."

Music is by WILLIAM BYRD, HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, RIHARDS DUBRA, PATRICK HAWES, GABRIEL FAURE, OLA GJEILO, MANUEL CARDOSO, ANTOINE BRUMEL, JOHN JENKINS, HEINRICH SCHUTZ, J.S. BACH, LISA GERRARD & PATRICK CASSIDY, ARVO PART, and EDWARD ELGAR.

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PGM 1288R 'THE NEXT DIMENSION' : apr. 8-15

It's utterly without tension, reliably tonal and melodic, and wouldn't hurt a fly. Yet New Age music has been the subject of decades of casual ridicule.

Originally a grassroots phenomenon with a do-it-yourself creative ethic made possible by the home studio movement, after a period of mainstream success in the 1980s, it retreated to serving its core audience. Despite the criticism, New Age remained a popular niche, showing that a therapeutic music for relaxation, meditation, virtual travel, and alternative forms of spirituality had become something of a psychological necessity in high-intensity modern life. 

Around 2004, a critical reappraisal of the genre began, led by music blogger Douglas Mcgowan and by serious music collectors, Gen X'ers and Millennials who were children during the glory days of New Age. Evaluating musicians on their own merit rather than writing off the entire genre led to the conviction that some of the artists had been underappreciated, and the genre itself had been overcriticized.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, New Age music reconsidered — on a program called THE NEXT DIMENSION. Music is by DEAN EVENSON, SCOTT HUCKABAY & PHIL HEAVEN, JONNY LIPFORD, DAVE EGGAR, HIROKI OKONO, UMA SILBEY, MICHAEL BRANT DEMARIA, FORREST SMITHSON, MIKE CLAY, IASOS, and PAUL AVGERINOS.  

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PGM 1314 'STELLAR QUEST' : apr.1-8

When we listen to ambient electronic music, the first question is "Where am I?" 

From the names of the artists and the titles of the music, one of the most popular locations is cosmic space, and the virtual experience of flying through it and floating in it. What's the appeal? Well, in the now politically incorrect language of Star Trek — the thrill of going "where no man has gone before," the promise of adventure, and the bliss of expanding into vast, limitless space.

All this is despite the fact that real interstellar space is either a frigid vacuum hundreds of degrees below zero, or super-hot filaments of ionized plasma at 100,000 degrees or more, shot through by lethal streams of cosmic radiation from stars. In short, not a very hospitable place for delicate humans. And it takes decades to visit the neighbors. A virtual sonic journey is safer, warmer, and ultimately more satisfying.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey through endless starfields and brilliant galaxies, on a program called STELLAR QUEST. Music is by STARTERRA, DEEPSPACE, TERMINUS VOID, DREAMSTATE LOGIC, and TRANSPONDER.

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