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THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING is, as they say about the future, “unequally distributed.” While our friends in the northern states and upper elevations are enjoying a last round of snow, the seasonal transition has been underway here in California for over two months.

Whatever your weather, after the grey skies and dark drones of winter, we’re due for some spring spacemusic: light, airy, energetic, ready to venture out and enjoy the world around us. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of sparkling Ambient electronics for spring, on a program called ‘VERNAL TRANSIT.’

Music is by ASCENDENT, CONNECT.OHM, STATE AZUR, RAY SAMMARTANO, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, and ISHQ.

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For ambient and electronic artists, the music of the winter season holds a special appeal. Dense drones, chilled harmonies, bright bells and percussion, and the psychoactive power of minimalist patterns — add up to a powerful palette of musical elements.

The small but artistically mighty countries of Scandinavia and the Arctic north produce far more than their share of world-class music across a wide range of contemporary genres and music for film. Nourishing it all is the influence of the extraordinary natural environment: the cold North Sea and volcanic islands, the dramatic coastal mountains and fjords, the vast boreal forests, the visual magic of fog, mist, and snow, and the otherworldly spectacle of the auroras—the famous northern lights.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, wintry ambient from Scandinavia and the Arctic north to Northern California, on a program called “NORTHERN LIGHTS 5.” Music is by ROBERT JÜRJENDAL, ERIK WØLLO, PHILLIP WILKERSON & CHRIS RUSSELL, SNOWDROPS, TERJE ISUNGSET & EIVIND AARSET, MARK BANNING (RIP), and JEFF PEARCE.

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THE ARRIVAL OF PRACTICAL ELECTRONIC SYNTHESIZERS in the late 1960s and early 1970s caused a sensation around the world, but nowhere more than Germany. Postwar German artists were restless, intent on leaving behind all forms of traditional German music, as well as the Rhythm & Blues roots and song structure of popular Anglo-American rock.

An innocent feature of early modular synthesizers called a “step sequencer” provided a tool that led to the development of an original style called “Kosmische Musik” or “Cosmic Music” in Germany, and—more playfully—“KrautRock.” The step sequencer made it easy to create hypnotic rhythm loops with up to 32 notes or steps, set a tempo, and mix them over flowing electronic drones. The effect was to “float” the listener through endless terrestrial or cosmic space: it was addictive.

Seminal groups and individuals like CAN, KLAUS SCHULZE, TANGERINE DREAM, KRAFTWERK, CLUSTER, ASH RA TEMPEL, HARMONIA and others, created an enduring style that has influenced genres from Minimalism, Ambient and Electronic Dance Music, to New Age and Techno. Today we call it the “Berlin School.”

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another timeless flight on electronic rhythms, on a program called SEQUENCER AIRLINES. Music is by ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, STATE AZURE, STEVE HAUSCHILDT, STARTERRA, MARTIN STURTZER, SYNTH REPLICANTS, STRAY THEORIES, NILS FRAHM, and EDGAR FROESE.

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This week we return to the mesmerizing music of the Middle East. Steeped in centuries of history and tradition, rich in character and spiritual intensity, it often comes from a generation of artists who’ve escaped the repressive regimes of their homeland. Today they thrive in exile and address a worldwide audience, thanks to contemporary media platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the modal scales, sinuous melodies, and hypnotic rhythms of the Middle East, on a program called TIMELESS RAPTURE. Music is by OPIUM MOON, STELLAMARA, ANOUAR BRAHEM, YUVAL RON, FANAR, and singers NAI BARGHOUTI and EMEL MATHLOUTHI. 

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Over a hundred years of electronic music have seen extraordinary innovations, but one thing has remained more or less unchanged: the use of electronic tones and repeating rhythms to navigate the virtual cosmic environment. Whether you call them sequencers, loopers, delay lines or drum machines, these rhythm devices provide the propulsive power for virtual travel to deep space. And when we get there, synthesizers and samplers can create floating, beatless, static tones to help us contemplate the awesome cosmic panorama.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it’s another deep space journey on electronic waves, on a program called “ELECTRON TRAVELER 5.” Music is by ASCENDANT, SVERRE KNUT JOHANSEN, STEVE ROACH, RUDY ADRIAN, ISHQ, and JANNE HANHISUANTO.

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1983…the year before the infamous 1984. Seems lifetimes ago, doesn’t it? But that was the year that a syndicated music program called Hearts of Space began to appear on public radio stations around the U.S. And that means that 2023 is the 40th anniversary of the national program!

I’m STEPHEN HILL, producer of Hearts of Space, and I was taught that if something was worth doing, not only was it worth doing well, it was worth doing for a long time. That, and the support of my colleagues, hundreds of stations, thousands of artists, and millions of listeners like you—has kept us going all this time.

To mark our 40th year, we’re rebroadcasting program number One, ‘FIRST FLIGHT’ from January 1983. It’s a perfect example of the open-minded, multi-genre, multi-cultural sonic integration of contemporary Ambient, Space, and Contemplative music. On our premiere program we featured music by a group of artists who became familiar names in the Hearts of Space pantheon of composers: KITARO, VANGELIS & IRENE PAPPAS, THOMAS DE HARTMANN, MICHAEL STEARNS, DEUTER, PAUL LLOYD WARNER & STEVEN KINDLER, CHARLES LLOYD, and DAVID DARLING.

It’s a journey across time…and space. FIRST FLIGHT…on this hour…of HEARTS OF SPACE.

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The reappearance of the phrase “comfort and joy” at year’s end is more than just sentiment. In trying times, it’s a call for setting aside conflict and disagreement, and retreating to a sheltered space where we can relax and enjoy the warmth and safety of hearth and home, sweet foods and spiced drinks, and the fellowship of friends and family. We sing traditional hymns and carols, and return to the pure tones of acoustic instruments.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an acoustic winter journey, on a program called HOMECOMING. Music is by DANA CUNNINGHAM, JEFF JOHNSON & BRIAN DUNNING, JOHN DOAN, TRINE OPSAHL, TOM EATON, FLOW, and CAMILLE NELSON.

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In the waning days of late autumn, the sun falls ever lower in the sky, the air becomes crisp as the restless wind strips the leaves from the trees, and the nights grow quiet, as the last lovelorn crickets of the season succumb to the cold.

The autumn harvest brings a bounty of fruits and flowers, grains and nuts, in a rainbow of complex colors from bright orange pumpkins to deep purple cranberries. The sounds of the season are darker, slower, deeper — a somber interlude before the bright celebrations of the holiday season.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an ambient-electronic journey for late autumn, on a program called SHADES AND SHADOWS. Music is by ASCENDENT, MARCONI UNION, STEVE ROACH, RUDY ADRIAN, APERUS, IAN BODDY, JUTA TAKAHASHI and more.

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The creators of cosmic electronic music are a dedicated group. They spend years honing their craft, a kind of sonic alchemy designed to transport the listener to “strange new worlds.” Their sound is inspired by the cosmic panorama: endless star fields and infinite galaxies; formless regions of interstellar dust and gas; and hypergravity, supermassive black holes.

They travel across time and space on the steady rhythms of electronic sequencers—the engines of extended flight—and paint on a cosmic canvas, creating sonic images of the vast universe we observe.

Created in the 1970s by the first generation of electronic space musicians, the genre quietly continues to evolve, fueled by new technologies and a new generation of artists. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the classic sound of electronic spacemusic, on a program called XPANSE.

With SVERRE KNUT JOHANSEN & DAVID HELPLING, TELOMERE, DAVE LUXTON, MICHAEL NEIL, RADIANT MIND & STEVE ROACH, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, ASC, and MICHAEL STEARNS.

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It's said the darkest hour is just before the dawn. In unsettled times, the metaphorical dawn is always ahead, and darkness seems endless. The same feeling pervades the seasonal transition from winter into spring. It's a time of waiting — for the end of wintry darkness and the dawn of the brilliant light of spring.

Many ambient musicians have been drawn to these metaphors as they navigate dark electronic soundworlds, and bring us reports on their travels. On this edition of Hearts of Space, patient and forebearing music for late winter, on a program called DARKNESS and DAWN. Music is by PATRICK O'HEARN, ROBERT RICH, A PRODUCE, APERUS, PRINCIPLE OF SILENCE, and GLEN TARACHOW.

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