Encore Programs

IF THERE’S ONE THING that Ambient electronic music excels at creating, it’s the experience of floating in space. And when that space is high, light, and airy, we call it “atmospheric.”

Atmospheres have qualities — elevation, temperature, brightness, color, density : low to high, cold to warm, dark to light; and a wide range of tones. When we immerse ourselves in sonic atmospheres, our normal sense of time seems to disappear.  Suspended in space, we lose track of time. Einstein probably had a special theory about that.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, an airy, immersive electronic journey, on a program called ‘ATMOSPHERIC.’  Music is by KIT WATKINS, JACK HERTZ, CRAIG PADILLA, ROBERT SCOTT THOMPSON, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, and DARSHAN AMBIENT.

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As spring slowly morphs into summer, the music becomes more energetic and expansive. In the long days and mild nights,the sounds and rhythms of the warm weather cultures call to us.

For ambient musicians, a brighter palette and hotter beats are in order, along with the changing sounds of an environment moving into overdrive.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space…an ambient excursion for the spring/summer transition called “WARM FRONT.” Music is by TWILIGHT ARCHIVE, YAGYA, LEO ABRAHAMS & JON HOPKINS, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, CYBERCHUMP, STEVE ROACH, and ERIK WØLLO.

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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.

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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.

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Armed with a studio full of synthesizers and powerful production software, many electronic musicians will create sonic images of vast, cold, cosmic space. Others will conjure up infectious sequencer rhythms, and attract a high energy crowd with electronic dance music. Still others, following the great European symphonic tradition, will electrify the orchestra, or create ambient electronic soundscapes.

A smaller group find inspiration in the environment, incorporating the sounds of nature in their music. But perhaps the most unusual are inspired by the supernatural—the worlds of myth and legend, literature and folklore. They create music for spirits, fairies, sprites and elves, wood and water nymphs, elementals, and other invisible denizens of the magic forest.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it’s a magical journey in supernatural spaces, on a program called “ENCHANTED LANDS.” Music is by LEMONGRASS, ISHQ, DESENSITIZED, KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, THE AMNIS INITIATIVE, RICHARD ROSS, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT. 

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It takes increasing effort, but if we can just turn away from the political chaos that has overtaken the Middle East for the moment, we can still hear the expression of artistic traditions that have been evolving for over 5000 years.

From source cultures in Persia, Arabia and North Africa come instruments and musical traditions. Today, both native and expatriate artists are working to extend these traditions and adapt them to the world of contemporary music. It’s an effort that aims for harmony and understanding in the face of dissonance and division: cultural in the best sense — a human treasure to be loved and shared.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey to the quiet heart of Middle Eastern music, on a program called DOOR OF SILENCE. Music is by MERCAN DEDE, OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK, AZAM ALI & LOGA RAMIN TORKIAN, ANOUAR BRAHEM, and DHAFER YOUSSEF.

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This week we transit the Spring Equinox, the official beginning of spring and a good time to check in on the ambient space guitar. Acoustic or electric, live or sampled, looped or direct, straight up or processed, folk, jazz, or classical — even in the electronic age, the venerable six string guitar continues to make itself indispensable almost everywhere music happens.

Guitarists of the Ambient persuasion take it slow, quiet, and spatially expanded, leaving the virtuosic fireworks to their rock brothers and sisters. Occasionally…a heroic rock guitarist like JEFF BECK or BUCKETHEAD will journey to the contemplative side of the instrument just to do something completely different.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a spacey, twangy, laid-back, subtle, turn-of-the-season journey for ambient guitar — on a program called SIX STRING SPRING. Music is by CHRIS HAUGEN, LISA BELLA DONNA, CLAES NILSSON, CARL WEINGARTEN, BLUE STAR, and TONY GERBER, with PHIL KEAGGY and DREAMHUB. 

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New Zealand musician DAVID PARSONS had a unique and fascinating musical career. In fact, you probably couldn’t make it up if you tried.

Back in the early 1960s, he was a jazz drummer, longing for a more melodic instrument.  Years before The Beatles brought the sitar to pop music, Parsons heard a recital in New Zealand by RAVI SHANKAR. That was it. Inspired to make the sitar his new instrument, he spent three years trying to get one imported into NZ, then 8 years teaching himself to play it. At that point he was ready to get serious!…and he made several trips to India to study with one of the few female sitar masters, KRISHNA CHAKRAVARTY.

In the late 1970s, fascinated by the sound of drones and long tones, Parsons discovered the connection between Indian music and synthesizers, and began creating electronic-Indian music fusions.  In the late 1980s, he went digital, incorporating samples of ethnic instruments and ambient sounds from his travels in Asia, including the chanting and ceremonial instruments of Tibetan monks.

His record company hired him to document ethnic music, a project that took him to exotic places like Iran, Armenia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, and Malaysia.  Like many of these cultures, his own music is rooted in India—with the melodic construction of the raga, the rhythmic cycles of the tala, and the extended, contemplative space of the alap.  He created dozens of amazing albums, and doesn’t read a note of music.

David Parsons passed away in February 2025 at 80. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, part 1 of a 2 part DAVID PARSONS RETROSPECTIVE called “LONG TONES.”

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The latter days of winter bring a special kind of fatigue mixed with impatience. For residents of snow-crossed parts of the country, winter has begun to overstay its welcome; while here in California, the trees are blossoming, and February feels like spring.

As the sound of the season evolves, music of the far north and Arctic countries still resonates, connecting with contemplative acoustic mainstays like the cello and the piano. From deep minimalist patterns to Romantic melodicism, we find the soul and comfort to endure.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, wintry acoustic spacemusic for the season, on a program called WINTERTONES 2. With Icelandic musicians OLAFUR ARNALDS and HILDUR GUTHNADOTTIR, cellist DAVID DARLING with SYLVIA NAKKACH and JACQUELINE TSCHABOLD BHUYAN, MICHAEL HOPPE & HAROLD MOSES, BRUNO SANFILIPPO, and RALPH ZURMUHLE. 

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We’re at the nadir of winter in the Northern Hemisphere…a time when the yearly journey around our native star seems arbitrary and endless. Battered by storms, challenged by cold, starved for light, we have no choice but to wait…for the return of the sun and the bright promise of spring.

It’s a trial we repeat in miniature each long winter night, as we turn away from the sun into the cosmic darkness. But while we can escape most of the night in sleep, winter…must be endured. It’s a test of fortitude and patience, a confrontation with our own desires for ease and comfort.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a nocturnal winter journey called “THE LONG NIGHT.”  Music is by JEFF GREINKE, ROBERT RICH, A PRODUCE, STEVE ROACH & KELLY DAVID, SEAN WASHBURN, and NUNC STANS & MYSTIFIED.

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