hearts of space | news

PGM 1398 'RESTORATION' : may 30-jun 6

It’s been almost 50 years since 1978, when the influential English recording artist and producer BRIAN ENO—in a historic bit of cultural appropriation—took the name “ambient” for an emerging genre of atmospheric contemporary music, and started an independent record label to publish it.

The approach had been evolving since the early 20th century in artistic and experimental music circles, including impressionism, avant garde, electronic, psycho-acoustic soundscapes, new age, and minimalism.

If there was a common element in these diverse genres, it was an emphasis on tone, texture, atmosphere, and spatial sound images, over traditional musical theory and structure. The genre was unusually open to influences from slow, quiet music from other cultures and historical eras, where it found hypnotic repetitions, psychoactive fractal patterns, modal drones, and consonant harmony.

In time, modern listeners also came to appreciate the therapeutic power of ambient music to manage stress, enhance concentration, and support meditative and spiritual experience. Today, a new generation of dedicated ambient composers are creating new music of great subtlety and power.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, therapeutic ambient for unpredictable times, on a program called "RESTORATION." Music is by DAVID HELPLING & ERIC "THE" TAYLOR, MICHAEL STEARNS & CHRISTIAN HALTEN, ISHQ, MATTHEW STEWART, ANDREW HEATH, and STEVE ROACH.

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

PGM 1016R 'CHORDOPHONICS' : may 23-30

Consider, gentle listener, the chordophone family of musical instruments. It's a large, diverse brood including almost anything with stretched strings: zithers, lyres, harps, lutes, guitars, the violin family, hundreds of ethnic string instruments like the Japanese koto and the African kora, and not least — keyed zithers like the harpsichord and the piano.

Chordophones can be plucked, strummed, bowed, keyed, or struck. Looking back in time, zithers, lyres and harps were the foundational instruments of the chordophone family. They were used in antiquity to accompany recitations and promote healing.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the soft strings of the harp and zither to a place close to silence, on a program called 'CHORDOPHONICS.'  Music is by PETER STERLING, HARP 46, LYSA LYNNE, DA WO's, HAROLD BUDD, CYMBER LILY QUINN, KLAUS WIESE, and LARAAJI.

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

PGM 1397 'AMBIENT TRAVELER 4' : may 16-23

At its core, Ambient is a sensibility — a way of perceiving or sensing the world around us. As a sensibility, it gives us a heightened awareness of our physical and cultural surroundings; as a contemporary music genre, the name may be new, but the music has old, even ancient roots, arising from the discovery that slow tempos, repeated patterns, hypnotic rhythms, and resonant enclosures can alter our sense of time, and transform our experience of space.

The 20th century saw the invention of electronic music, along with technical advances in communication, travel, sound recording, and music distribution—all of which sparked unprecedented exposure to non-western folk, classical, and tribal music from indigenous cultures around the world. In 1987, the European and North American music industry—determined to avoid the confusion and criticism that accompanied the choice of "New Age" for an earlier emerging genre—opted for simplicity and called the entire non-western traditional category "World Music."

In time the World Music genre expanded to include ethnic fusions, crossovers, and hybrids, and the ethereal sounds of Tribal Electronic and World Ambient. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we journey over the high desert mesas, wind-blown dunes, and endless plains of the Ethno-Ambient soundscape, on a program called "AMBIENT TRAVELER 4."

Music is by LAYNE REDMOND & TOMMY BRUNGES, BYRON METCALF & ARI URBAN, SUZANNE TENG & GILBERT LEVY, MARLA LEIGH, STEPHAN MICUS, and ANOUSHKA SHANKAR.

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

PGM 0726 'FLOWING INTO SPRING' : may 9-16

SPRING CREEPS IN with delicate leaves and fragrant flowers. The winds sweep through, the rains wash away the accumulated debris of winter, and we bathe in new light and energy. It's a time for music that flows with grace and melody—a confirmation of the release we feel.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the music is fresh and the harmonies are lush...on a program called 'FLOWING INTO SPRING'. Music is by SECRET GARDEN, ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER, NANCY RUMBEL, BILL DOUGLAS, SAVINA YANNATOU & PRIMAVERA EN SALONICO, LEE JOHNSON, and SANCTUARY.

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

PGM 1396 'WARMING TREND' : may 2-9

Ahhhh, spring at last. Or is it? Our most anticipated season has a habit of arriving in fits and starts: a few days of temperate glory...and then a chilled rerun of late winter; a sweet day of sunshine and birdsong...and then, a nasty day of cold rain and hail. It breeds a kind of disorientation you feel in your body...and makes you question where you are.

When ambient musicians focus on spring, they're thinking of brighter timbres, more energetic rhythms, and warmer harmonies. Will the weather take the hint? It's a toss-up, but the psychological effect, at least, can be comforting.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...ambient electronics to summon and celebrate spring, on a program called WARMING TREND. Music by ERIK WØLLO, RUDY ADRIAN, STEVE ROACH, ANDREW LAHIFF, AMONGST MYSELVES, TOM EATON, and PATRICK O'HEARN.

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