In retrospect, it was inevitable. When high quality portable tape recorders became available after World War II, ethnomusicologists took them into the field to document the living folk music traditions of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and beyond.
Then came the 12″ LP record in 1948, and these recordings began to circulate around the world, as specialty labels like the Nonesuch Explorer Series inspired an era of cross-cultural influences and collaborations. Ethnic artists traveled west to perform and record, while western musicians traveled far and wide to engage with these genres. Ambient and electronic artists who created music for virtual travel were highly receptive to these influences, and in time they evolved the sophisticated World/Ambient styles we have today.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the place where world music meets ambient, on a program called AMBIENT TRAVELER 3. Music is by ROBERT RICH, FORREST FANG, AL GROMER KHAN, LOREN NERELL & MARK SEELIG, and STEPHAN MICUS.
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