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PGM 1318 'MINIMAL GROOVE 2' : may 27-june 3

It's a marriage that seems preordained: the appealingly simple, tonal repetitions of minimalism, and the ancient, irresistible kinetic energy of rhythmic grooves. A group of experimental, percussion-oriented composers in Europe and the U.S. have recognized the potential of this combination, and set out to create a genre.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...beguiling, time-warping rhythms meet ambient atmospheres, on a program called "MINIMAL GROOVE 2." 

Music is by THIERRY DAVID, NEN, DON LI, REPERCUSSION UNIT, LOOP 2.4.3, MICHAEL JON FINK, and HANG MASSIVE.

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PGM 1317 'TRANSONIC' : may 20-27

Acoustic versus electric: once upon a time it was an issue — infamously with Bob Dylan's plugged-in performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Electric won that round, at least for guitars and popular music. But by the mid 1970's acoustic was back, with the rise of Windham Hill Records and its purist approach to so-called "American Primitive" guitar and piano.

Many innovations have come and gone in the evolution of music since then. We still have purely acoustic folk, jazz, new age, and classical music, but without much fuss, electro-acoustic hybrids have become increasingly mainstream. Acoustic instruments provide a familiar, comforting, organic sound, and support musical expression; electronics expand the subtle dimensions of tone, imagery, and ethereality. Together they make a potent contemporary combination.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore the transition from acoustic to electro-acoustic, on a program called TRANSONIC. Music is by WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER, & TOM EATON, DAVID MICHAEL, WILL ACKERMAN solo, RYAN JUDD, TOM EATON solo, JEFF PEARCE, RUSSEL WALDER, and DAGOBERT BÖHM.

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PGM 1214R 'ANCESTRAL VOICES 2' : may 13-20

All most Americans know about Vietnam is that we fought a long and pointless war there in the 1960s and 70s. Today, if you live on the west coast, more likely than not there's a delicious Vietnamese restaurant in your community. But the ancient cultures, and the music of Southeast Asia and Vietnam in particular, is a mystery to most of us. 

A select group of Western composers and musicians have been drawn to these cultures, along with Southeast Asian musicians who've relocated to the West. They're creating a new fusion of traditional and contemporary music. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...subtle sounds from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia, on a program called ANCESTRAL VOICES 2. Music is by GRAYHAWK, LÊ TỰ CƯỜNG, PEETER VÄHI, RICHARD HOROWITZ, PHAN KIM THÀNH, VANESSA VÕ, LÊ TUẤN HÙNG & ĐẶNG KIM HIỀN, TRÍ NGUYỄN & THE ILIOS QUARTET.

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PGM 651R 'KLAUS SCHULZE: CONTEMPORARY WORKS' : may 6-13

It's been more than 30 years since the German genius for music and technology encountered psychoactive chemistry at the end of the 1960s. The rest, as they say, is history; but when that history is finally written, the name of one musician will dominate the tale.

KLAUS SCHULZE was there from the very beginning, starting as a drummer in a psychedelic rock group, then embracing electronics when the first synthesizers arrived in Germany. He was a member of both of the seminal German electronic groups — Ash Ra Tempel and Tangerine Dream, then headed off on his own — thereby inventing the identity of the solo electronic musician, working in his personal studio to create original music.

Perhaps more than any single composer, he developed a musical language for electronic spacemusic that's become so pervasive and influential, it's now part of the environment. And since the early 1970s, his music has been one of the foundations of the sound of this program.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we bring our long love affair with the music of Klaus Schulze up to date on a program called KLAUS SCHULZE : CONTEMPORARY WORKS.

Long careers in popular music are rare; long and prolific careers are exceptional.  But the output of Klaus Schulze has been so extraordinary that even his most dedicated fans are often overwhelmed.  By 2001, his discography included 35 solo albums, some 36 collaborations, and a group of monumental retrospective box sets, ranging from 10 to 50 albums each.

The new millennium did not diminish his creativity. In 2000, he released a new 10 CD set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS I, and followed it up in 2002 with a 5 disc set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS II.  As you can see, the problem in bringing you Klaus Schulze is not one of supply, but rather, of selection, from an overflowing fountain of new music. 

All the music on this program is taken from CONTEMPORARY WORKS 1 and 2. The deep focus electronic images, the sense of flying, floating, and cruising majestically through space, the soulful tones of the cello, English horn, oboe, and guitar, the entrancing cyclic rhythms –– all combine to make this music a distinctive and satisfying experience. 

Klaus Schulze died on April 26, 2022, at the age of 74. No other artist has had such a profound influence on the sound of contemporary ambient, techno, and trance music.

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