Encore Programs

PGM 1209R “THE INFINITE PIANO” : may 1-8

For an instrument that’s been around for over three hundred years, the piano continues to surprise. Ever since the arrival of popular electronic instruments, ambient musicians have been busy reinventing the sound and the setting of the piano.

Musically, the 19th century Romantic Classical composers who perfected the piano concerto inspired VANGELIS (and thousands of new age pianists) to create personal, “high affect,” emotionally-centered music—while the gentle, ironic French proto-ambient composer ERIK SATIE inspired others to create quiet, unpretentious miniatures. Still others have taken the instrument into cosmic space, where it chimes and sings across the starfields.

In the 21st century, the piano is (almost) everywhere.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space…(with appreciation to MICHAEL BROOK, creator of the Infinite Guitar) the evolving sound of “THE INFINITE PIANO.” Music is by VANGELIS, CHAD LAWSON, TOM EATON, BILL DOUGLAS, BEN LUKAS BOYSEN, and NILS FRAHM.

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PGM 1396R “WARMING TREND”: apr.17-24

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 is by ERIK WØLLO, RUDY ADRIAN, STEVE ROACH, ANDREW LAHIFF, AMONGST MYSELVES, TOM EATON, and PATRICK O’HEARN.

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PGM 1368 ‘SACRED SONGS of DEVOTION’ : apr.3-10

This week on Hearts of Space “SACRED SONGS OF DEVOTION” — a special program of choral and instrumental music for Easter, from our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES. 

The show includes choral selections from Ellen’s compilation “SACRED SONGS of MARY: Devotion”—the third in her series of albums showcasing music honoring the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. “In Western culture,” writes Ellen, “Mary is the personification of tenderness, compassion, forgiveness, protection, and unconditional love—emotions reflected in music praising her or beseeching her comfort and help.”

This wide-ranging program includes sacred choral music from the Russian Orthodox mass, a 12th Century song by HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, 17th century sacred music from Spain by ALONSO LOBO, sacred works by19th and 20th century composers JOHN TAVENER, SERGEI RACHMANINOFF, PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY, and MAURICE DURUFLÉ, and contemporary works by SIGUR RÓS, LISA GERRARD, DAVID DARLING, MAX RICHTER, and ARVO PÄRT. 

Choral and instrumental music for Easter: “SACRED SONGS OF DEVOTION”…on this transmission of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1044R : “ETHNOTRONIC”— mar. 20-27

THE TRIBAL MUSIC TRADITIONS of Asia, Africa and the Americas stretch back to the mists of pre-history. For perhaps a hundred centuries, music was made with simple, even primitive instruments: flutes, rattles, drums and percussion; lyres, harps and strings; and wind instruments of various sizes and tones. It was an all-acoustic world, where music and instruments evolved slowly.

Then in the late 19th and 20th centuries, electricity and electronics began to transform the world and transform music. First came the telegraph and the telephone, then radio, then recordings, and then the instruments themselves. Guitars and pianos became electric…and then electronic. And finally, purely electronic instruments of dazzling variety and unlimited potential to create new sounds.

After the electronic music revolution of the 1960s and 70s, the entire studio became a musical instrument, and the sound of recordings has never been quite the same. Today, ethnic instruments and genres can be set in new Ambient soundscapes, a fusion of the old world and the new.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ethnic instruments join electronic ambient, on a program called “ETHNOTRONIC.” Music is by TUU, GREEN ISAC, SACRED EARTH, CHINMAYA DUNSTER, MANEESH DE MOOR, ARCHETRIBE, LOREN NERELL & MARK SEELIG, STILLPOINT, and MICHEL BANABILA.

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PGM 870 ‘TRANSPARENT SPRING’ : march 13-20

The transition between winter and spring is never predictable. After a time of darkness and confinement, we long for light, air and freedom. We seek change: space and openness, movement and flow.

Filled with new purpose, we clean out old structures. In uncertain times, we shine the light into dark places, and prepare for the challenges ahead. Transparency is the new watchword, the key to trust.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a collection of freshly grown and gracefully aged electronica for the season, on a program called TRANSPARENT SPRING. Music is by GENERAL FUZZ, TRISTAN FELDBAUER and friends, HILLTON FM, JOHAN AGEBJORN, ISHQ, MYCHAEL DANNA and TIM CLEMENT, GLEN DARCEY, and MINOR.

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PGM 1137R ‘FLYING and FLOATING 3’ : feb.27-mar.5

Slogging through the recurring storms, natural disasters and political turmoil of this seemingly endless winter, even the sudden appearance of the first blossoms of spring on the trees here in California brings only a moment of joy and relief. No, what we need is some extended sonic therapy, the kind that Ambient Electronic music magically provides.

So let’s get back to basics: on this transmission of Hearts of Space, music for deep space traveling and weightless levitation, on a program called “FLYING AND FLOATING 3.”

Music is by TRANSPONDER, ASCENDANT, STEVE ROACH, JEFFREY KOEPPER, JIM OTTAWAY, PALANCAR, KLAUS SCHULZE (with TOBIAS BECKER), and HOLLAN HOLMES.

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PGM 1308R ‘NORTHERN NIGHTS 3’ : feb. 13-20

The heart of a long, cold winter is a good time to return to the far north folk music of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. While not as celebrated as the music of its Celtic neighbors to the south, it’s every bit as warm and soulful.

Originally distinguished by traditional instruments like the Finnish box zither called the kantele, and the Norwegian hardanger fiddle with its sympathetic strings — like other folk genres, in recent years electronics and studio recording techniques have been added to enrich and modernize the sound.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, traditional and contemporary winter music from Scandinavia, on a program called NORTHERN NIGHTS 3. Music is by BUKKENE BRUSE, ANNBJØRG LIEN, PRISCILLA HERNANDEZ, SINIKKA LANGELAND, ARJA KASTINEN & PETER PHIPPEN, TRINA OPSAHL, LAKKI PATEY, and ØYSTEIN SEVÅG.

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PGM 1032R ‘POLAR VORTEX’ : jan. 30-feb. 5

Chicago during the polar vortex

This week a frigid mass of North Pole air spun south and descended on the United States. In addition to sub-zero temperatures, disruption of travel and general misery, it introduced a new phrase to describe extreme winter weather.

We were working on an Ambient electronic winter show and we already had a pretty good title for it, but this new phrase, well, it just blew it away.  On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a super-chilled winter journey called “POLAR VORTEX.”  Music is by IAN BODDY & ERIK WOLLO, SIMON LOMAX, STORMLOOP, DILATE, TUU, and NETHERWORLD.

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PGM 898R “ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS” : jan.16-23

The winter skies are a broad, constantly changing panorama: flat, gray shadowless light… chilled fogs with subtle, desaturated colors… dramatic dark storm clouds… and brilliant clear days, with infinite horizons of the deepest transparent blue.

The ambient music inspired by these environments displays a corresponding range of tones, textures, and techniques: from foggy soundscapes and dark drones, to crystalline percussion and ethereal harmonics.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a program inspired by the winter skies called “ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS.” Music is by RUSSEL WALDER, JEFF GREINKE, KEVIN KELLER ENSEMBLE, PETER GARLAND, STUART DEMPSTER, TOM HEASLEY & ERIC GLICK RIEMAN, JOHN LUTHER ADAMS, and TIM STORY.

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PGM 1135R “OVERCAST” : jan. 2-9/

The typical winter atmosphere is muted and monochrome, under a sky of dense grey-blue clouds. Above, chilled vapor waits to return to earth as cold rain, sleet or snow. On the ground, it’s a world of desaturated colors and diffuse shadows, punctuated by storms and relieved briefly by short bright days. Nature sleeps, awaiting the awakening of spring.

The sound of winter is slow, ethereal, subtle, with occasional accents of brilliant white or deep black. Bell sounds and the metal strings of the piano ring across the landscape, supported by profound dark drones.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the sounds of winter to a place of deep calm, on a program called OVERCAST.

Music is by BEN LUKAS BOYSEN, JANNE HANHISUANTO, LIBRARY TAPES (DAVID WENNGREN), BRUNO SANFILIPPO & MATHIAS GRASSOW, BIOSPHERE, and SIGUR ROS.

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