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PGM 974R2 'THE CELTIC ROAD' : mar. 12-19

This week, dear listeners, we come once again to our yearly celebration of all things Celtic. Though the time has passed when Celtic music was trending, it's a tradition that continues to evolve. Ireland has boomed and bust, and through it all the beauty and spirit of Celtic music has continued to charm audiences around the world, with its brilliant dances and heartfelt airs and ballads.

In the poetic imagination of the Celtic bards and troubadours, travel metaphors are as common as thoughts of home. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we take another journey across those green and rocky lands, on a program called THE CELTIC ROAD.

Music is by DAVY SPILLANE, MOYA BRENNAN, LISA LYNN & ARYEH FRANKFURTER, LOREENA McKENNITT, AINE MINOGUE, DAVID ARKENSTONE, BRAGH ADAIR, and JAMES GALWAY & PHIL COULTER.

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1206R 'WINTERTRONIC' : feb.26-mar.5

Winter...has a way of overstaying its welcome. After several months of sullen skies, numbing cold, and too many days of frigid rain, sleet, or snow—even the most ardent champions of the season fall silent. We've arrived...at forbearance. 

Here in California, the trees blossom in mid-February regardless of the weather. After a big rain, the ground is strewn with pink and white petals. Soon the storms will taper off and spring will arrive. For most of the country though, there's still a long time to wait. 

Ambient electronic artists find inspiration in the winter atmospheres, and create music with dark drones, virtual storms, chilled tones, and monochromatic harmonies. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's another wintry journey on electronic waves — on a program called WINTERTRONIC.

Music is by TRANSPONDER, HOLLAN HOLMES, SOLARIS, NETHERWORLD, BLUETECH, KIRSTY HAWKSHAW, JANNE HANHISUANTO, and ILUITEQ.

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PGM 1236R 'NORTHERN NIGHTS 2' : jan.29-feb.5

The polar night…deep, still, and silent.

As our world warms, it's punctuated by sounds of ice...melting, cracking and falling.

Overhead the auroras paint the sky with ghostly green light, as charged particles from the sun interact with the earth's magnetic field. It's a vast, solemn environment that inspires ambient and electronic musicians to create vast, chilled soundscapes.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, ambient nocturnes from the Arctic north, on a program called NORTHERN NIGHTS 2.

Music is by JANNE HANHISUANTO, MATHIAS GRASSOW & MICHAEL BRÜCKNER, SEETYCHA, ERIK WØLLO, STORMLOOP, BIOSPHERE, RETINA.IT, and ILUITECH.

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PGM 1132R 'POLAR FLIGHT 2' : jan.1-8

We're flying over the north polar icecap — in winter, a dazzling wonderland of white and deep blue. It's a vast glacial world of snow and ice, fractal patterns shot through with veins of melting water. Ambient electronic music, with its chilled harmonies, slowly changing rhythm patterns and endless reverberant sound images, creates the perfect soundtrack for this spectacular landscape.

In the polar night above the Arctic Circle, the winter sun never rises above the horizon; only the hypnotic ion curtains of the auroras relieve the darkness, while the sounds of moving water and breaking ice punctuate the solitude. It's a contemplative environment of sublime majesty and depth.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey to the Arctic north, on a program called POLAR FLIGHT 2. Music is by ASCENDANT, YAGYA, BANCO DE GAIA, SIMON LOMAX, WINGS OF AN ANGEL, and EASYCHORD.

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PGM 727R 'ANCILLARY DREAMS' (Harold Budd Retrospective 1) - dec.25-jan.1

The revered ambient composer HAROLD BUDD was taken by the Covid-19 virus on December 8th 2020. This is the first of two retrospectives celebrating his life and his music.

Who would have believed when it was written in 1972, that the delicate chamber music that begins this show was actually an act of defiance. "When I told people," says HAROLD BUDD, "that my idea was to make music that was as devastatingly pretty as possible, it was out-and-out politics."

In fact, the California-born composer and ambient music pioneer has always been something of a contrarian. He got a late start in music, getting his degree in composition at the age of 36 at USC in Los Angeles. In the late 1960s he was loosely involved with a circle of Southern California minimalist and avant garde composers, absorbing influences from JOHN CAGE and MORTON FELDMAN, but also from jazz giants like PHAROAH SANDERS and JOHN COLTANE. He even wrote a piece for piano, harp, celeste, and topless female choir. Ah, yes. Those were the days.

In 1970 he began teaching at the California Institute of the Arts. He left six years later after meeting someone who would change his life: English producer, musician and theorist BRIAN ENO. Years later Budd told me with his typical sly wit: "The problem with teaching was that you had to listen to so much bad music."

Eno signed Budd to his new OBSCURE RECORDS label in 1976. Budd and Eno went on to create several influential and widely enjoyed albums — foundation stones of the ambient genre, including THE PLATEAUX OF MIRROR and THE PEARL.

Budd's early works had neo-classical titles, like Madrigals of the Rose Angel and The Pavilion of Dreams. In addition to his musical gifts, he had an ear for language and the sensibility of a poet, able to work with ambiguous images and squeeze emotion out of them. He didn't just do pretty, either. As you'll hear, he explored darker, stranger landscapes: melancholy, forlorn, and highly evocative.

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PGM 1098R 'CARITAS' : dec. 18-25

DECEMBER 2020 IS THE 35th ANNIVERSARY of the first Hearts of Space program created by our guest producer for western classical and sacred spacemusic, ELLEN HOLMES — a labor of love, dedication and stamina that continues to bring us experiences of sublime beauty and depth. Thank you, Ellen. We are all in your debt.

On this winter holiday transmission of Hearts of Space, Ellen brings together sacred choral and instrumental sounds of love, caring and compassion, on a program called CARITAS. The Latin word translates as charity, and is considered the highest of Christian virtues: the divine love of God, as well as the love of one's neighbor and oneself.

The program includes Anonymous early sacred chants: Baroque and Classical choral gems by MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER, WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, CHARLES GOUNOD, and FRANZ SCHUBERT, and sacred choral and classical instrumentals by contemporary composers JOHN TAVENER, IVER KLEIVE, GEOFFREY BURGON, JOHN RUTTER and PATRICK HAWES.

Holiday sounds of love, caring and compassion: CARITAS...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 957R 'MYSTERIOSO' : nov. 20-27

A classic piece of electronic spacemusic from France by JEAN-MICHEL JARRE. With just a few notes, it creates a whole world of mystery and imagination. Slow, deep, romantic and sublime, it invites us into a place that's unknown and unpredictable, yet alluring.

It's true that all good music takes you away, but since the 1970s artists have been using electronic tools to craft a sound that takes you to places far beyond the reach of ordinary music. Dark ambient electronics have become a vehicle...for transport to deep virtual worlds and exotic environments.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey on the dark ambient spaceways, on a program called MYSTERIOSO. Music is by JEAN MICHEL JARRE, A PRODUCE & LOREN NERELL, PAUL ELLIS, MEG BOWLES, RICHARD BONE, ERIK WOLLO, KIT WATKINS, and ANDREW LAHIFF.

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PGM 1058R 'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' : oct. 23-30

As we enter the astrological house of Scorpio, here in the northern hemisphere the light is waning, the natural world is withering, and hidden realms are emerging from the shadows. It's a time for music of dissonant harmonies, dark spaces and strange worlds.

I'm STEPHEN HILL and on this transmission of Hearts of Space, a dark autumn journey called THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The title, of course, was made famous by the 1959 science fiction TV series written, produced and hosted by ROD SERLING, featuring stories of the futuristic, the paranormal and the supernatural.

My introductions to Hearts of Space are too often compared to Rod Serling's. Thank you, but have you actually listened to a TWILIGHT ZONE intro lately? Sorry, no way.

Music is by TIM STORY & ROEDELIUS, KEVIN KELLER, BRUNO SANFILIPPO, MICHAEL JON FINK, JEFF GREINKE, ROBERT RICH, THOMAS NEWMAN & RICK COX, and DWIGHT ASHLEY.

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PGM 1231R 'FALLING' : oct. 2-9

THE SUN begins its long withdrawal from the northern hemisphere after the summer solstice in June. After the autumn equinox in September, the transition seems to accelerate. The days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, and the temperature cools, while the natural world changes color and prepares for the winter to come.

Since medieval times we've called this season "fall." The word comes from Middle English, with Old English and Old German roots. Falling implies movement downward, and in autumn declining solar energy brings a feeling of descending or falling into the season. In music it's marked by slowing tempos, descending chord progressions, darkening timbres, and wistful, even melancholy emotions.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we descend into the autumn soundscape, on a program called FALLING. Music is by DAVID DARLING, JOEP BEVING, CHRISTOPHER TIGNOR, HAMMOCK, LUDOVICO EINAUDI, and TOM EATON.

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PGM 1158R 'EQUILUX' : sept.19-26

Twice a year, we pass a point of balance and equilibrium in the progression of the seasons. Our planet reaches the place in its celestial journey where the center of the sun rises and sets directly over the equator, and day and night are of approximately equal length everywhere on earth. We call these times the equinox from the Latin for "equal night." A less common but possibly more correct name is equilux or "equal light." 

The September equinox marks the beginning of the new season: autumn, and the time of harvest festivals in the northern hemisphere. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, calm and balanced acoustic ambient for the seasonal transition, on a program called EQUILUX.

Music is by PETER BRODERICK, LUDOVICO EINAUDI, FEDERICO ALBANESE, TOM EATON, FLOW, CARL WEINGARTEN & CATHERINE MARIE CHARLTON, GREG HAINES, A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN, and ENZO.

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PGM 1189R 'DEEP DUB' : sept.11-18

The history of Jamaican Dub music is rich and fascinating. Dub grew out of reggae in the 1960s, and evolved well beyond its popular parent. It was a studio craft where producers created instrumental remixes of reggae tracks by removing the vocals, adding echo, reverb and delay, and dubbing in new ambient sounds. Essentially, Dub was an early form of popular electronic music.

If you think all this had something to do with cannabis, you'd be understating the case. In a 1982 essay, LUKE EHRLICH said: "With dub, Jamaican music spaced out completely. If reggae is Africa in the New World, then dub must be Africa on the moon; it's the psychedelic music I expected to hear in the 1960s...and didn't. The bass and drums conjure up a dark, vast musical portrait of outer space, with sounds suspended like glowing planets or the fragments of instruments careening by, leaving trails like comets and meteors."

Dub was a natural link to later electronic genres like techno, ambient, trip hop and electronic dance music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the trancey beats of Jamaican Dub and its electronic descendants, on a program from guest producer DAVID J. EGAN called DEEP DUB. Music is by JAH WOBBLE & MARCONI UNION, ORKUS, FINGERS IN THE NOISE, ECHO GRID, PURL & DEFLEKTION, LOSCIL, and MOTIONFIELD.

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PGM 1146R 'HELIOS' : aug.14-21

Let's hear it for The Sun, ladies and gentlemen. It's impossible to think of anything more important—to our very existence, our history, our evolution, and our future as a species. So it's a big subject: the sun is responsible for super-basic stuff like day and night, the year, the weather, and the climate. It's the key to almost all life on earth, the source of all our energy (one way or another), the key ingredient in everything we eat, and the indispensable element in our vacations. I mean, who wants to vacation in the rain?

Astronomically speaking, the sun is our home star, a member of the "yellow dwarf" class. It's 4.6 billion years old, over a hundred times bigger in diameter than earth, and weighs 330,000 times as much, despite being 98% hydrogen and helium—two of the lightest materials in existence. The sun is a bright sphere of superheated plasma; at its core is a nuclear furnace, where fusion of hydrogen atoms creates temperatures of almost 30 million degrees Fahrenheit, while the surface of the sun is a relatively balmy 10,000 degrees. We're 93 million miles away, and it still feels hot! 

The sun has been central to many human cultures and religions since prehistoric times. It's been worshipped as a deity and celebrated in myth, art and literature, especially in ancient Egypt. Those days are gone, but ambient electronic artists are still inspired by it. On this transmission of Hearts of Space...a tribute to the sun and its season, on a program called HELIOS.

Music is by SOLAR FIELDS, AES DANA, STEVE ROACH, ISHQ, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, ERIC WØLLO, MAX CORBACHO, and HOLLAN HOLMES.

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PGM 1220 'AMBIENT TRAVELER 2' : july 17-24

In the warm, bright days of summer, an ambient fan yearning for travel to exotic cultures will book a flight on Sequencer Airlines. With its steady pulse, it's a perfect rhythm for moving through space. 

The roots go back to 9th century Persia, but the music sequencer idea really got going in the 19th century after the Industrial Revolution, with popular devices like music boxes, mechanical organs, and player pianos. By the first generation of electronic synthesizers in the 1960s and 70s, the Step Sequencer was a machine that turned equal length notes into repeating rhythm patterns. They're simple, delightfully hypnotic, and fun to work with. 

Today things are more complicated, but a lot more powerful. We have audio sample sequencers, loop-based creative music software, phrase samplers, and digital audio recording software many times more powerful than the primitive sequencers of early synths—and hey! They're still fun to work with. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...a journey from kinetic sequencer patterns to exotic Southeast Asian ambient soundscapes—on a program called AMBIENT TRAVELER 2. 

Music by ATOMIC SKUNK, DAVID PARSONS, CHRISTEL VERAART, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, LOREN NERELL, ALIO DIE & LORENZO MONTANA, RICHARD BONE.

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PGM 1055R 'ROMANTICO' : july 3-10

It's been a while since we did a program on the music of the America to our south. It's a whole continent, after all, and the scope and variety of music from the distinctive cultures of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil is enormous.

Whether it comes from the mountain cultures, the grasslands, the rainforest, or one of the great cities; is based on influences from the native Indians, or from Spain or other European countries — the music of South America has a depth and passion all its own, and genres like Tango have created fans around the world.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the soul and space of South American music, on a program called ROMANTICO. Music is by OSCAR REYNOLDS, INKUYO, TRIO GARUFA, GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA, ASTOR PIAZZOLLA, STEPHAN MICUS, DINO SALUZZI, and EGBERTO GISMONTI.

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PGM 980R 'MELLOTRONIC' : jun 5-12

Ahhh, the sweetness of early summer, the balm of warm breezes, the pollen, the allergies. It's a good time for electro-acoustic music with gentle rhythms, soft harmonies and seductive melodies. In a word, something "mellotronic."

Now, historians of electronic instruments will tell you that the Mellotron was a tape-based, polyphonic, sample-playback keyboard, developed in England in the early 1960s. The instrument achieved classic status for its key role in popular albums by the Moody Blues and the Beatles, and brought violin, cello, brass, flute and choir sounds to innumerable albums from the Progressive Rock era.

These days, every laptop can be a sampler, the original Mellotron sound is a menu choice, and the orchestration of electronic music is open to all. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we revisit the romantic-contemplative side of ambient electronica, on a program called MELLOTRONIC. Music is by PATRICK O'HEARN, LUDOVICO EINAUDI, THIERRY DAVID, CRAIG PADILLA, MICHELE IPPOLITO, and FRANK STEINER, JR.

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PGM 1213R 'PROGRESSIVE AMBIENT' : may 15-22

The "progressive" label is growing, and it has nothing to do with politics. 

In music, the term has a history that goes back to Progressive Folk in the 1930s. After that came Progressive Jazz from the 1940s to the 1970s, Progressive Rock, Pop, and Bluegrass in the 1960s, Progressive Country in the 1970s, Progressive Metal in the 1980s, and Progressive Electronic and Progressive House in the 1990s.

Progressive is what happens when a genre has matured, and there's an abundance of highly skilled musicians who want to stay creatively challenged. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...if the progressive label means expanding stylistic and conceptual boundaries and synthesizing cultural influences—then I'm gonna say we're overdue for a genre—and a program—called PROGRESSIVE AMBIENT.

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PGM 1011R 'ELECTRON TRAVELER' : apr.24-may 1

Even in the early days, the pioneers of electronic music knew they were on to something special. Here was a way of sculpting sound that made it like clay — something you could shape to your own creative vision. Today every artist can have electronic tools of almost unlimited power at their fingertips. We've had several generations of musicians tending the electronic vineyards, and these days the sonic wine is available in many varietals.

For example, "downtempo" is a name invented in the 1990s to describe slowed-down, less intense electronic dance music. It's still beat-y but the atmosphere is chilled; rather than pumping you up, it floats you along with a relaxed vibe that leads to pure Ambient realms.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey from Downtempo rhythms to Ambient space, on a program called 'ELECTRON TRAVELER'. Music is by AES DANA, MARCONI UNION, HIBERNATION, HEALER, and RADIANT MIND.

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PGM 785R 'LAMENTO' : apr. 3-10

Descending into the dark season, we find music that portrays human emotions at their most vulnerable: music of pathos, loss and remembrance. These are some of our most powerful and affecting feelings, and they call for music that reaches into the depths of our souls.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a special program of choral, vocal and instrumental music for the dark season from guest producer ELLEN HOLMES called LAMENTO.

A lament is a cathartic song or poem expressing grief or mourning. Many of the oldest and most enduring poems in human history have been laments; they're found in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Hindu Vedas, and in ancient Near Eastern religious texts, including the Old Testament. 

Music is by GEORGE ROCHBERG, ARVO PÄRT, GARRETT FISHER, SAVINA YANNATOU, SILVIA NAKKACH, ZBIGNIEW PREISNER, NIKOLAI KARETNIKOV, VICTOR KALINNIKOV, ALEXANDER KASTALSKY, URMAS SISASK, and SANCTUARY.

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PGM 749R2 'TRANSLUCENT MUSIC' : mar.27-apr.3

In dark and dangerous times, we're confronted with depressing and painful emotions. Irrationally, when we consciously immerse ourselves in fear and dread, we can emerge stronger. Music has mysterious restorative powers that come from the emotional confrontation with deep and challenging feelings. The Ancient Greeks called it...catharsis.

At the other end of the emotional spectrum, in dark times we crave light and hope—balm for battered souls. Here music brings beauty and peace, inspiration and joy.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the fragile lightscape of the psyche, from dark, to translucent, to luminous—on a program called TRANSLUCENT MUSIC.

Featuring LISA GERRARD & JEFF RONA, ELENI KARAINDROU, ARVO PÄRT, VALENTIN SILVESTROV, and KARL JENKINS.

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PGM 1038 'CELTIC LEGACY 2' : mar. 13-20

Every year on the threshold of spring, we celebrate the memory of St. Patrick and the sublime music of the Celtic lands on the western edge of Europe. For folk music fans, it's a visit to one of the key sources of American music; for lovers of the ethereal ballad, it's a deep drink from the well; and for anyone who appreciates fine acoustic music and great vocalists, it's an unending delight. For Celtic music renews itself in every generation, embracing the present while honoring its long and brilliant expression of essential human emotion.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, another journey in the Celtic soundscape, on a program called CELTIC LEGACY 2. Music is by MIKE OLDFIELD, CLANNAD, DAVID ARKENSTONE & CHARLEE BROOKS, KATE PRICE, JOHN DOAN, AINE MINOGUE, and BRIAN KEANE.

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PGM 1068R 'WINTERTONES 2' : feb. 21-28

 

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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PGM 895R 'WINTERSONGS 2' : jan. 24-31

In a time of cold and dark, we instinctively move toward warmth and light. So the winter songbook that comes down to us from Northern and Eastern Europe is replete with warm harmonies and brilliant timbres. From Norway, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Germany and Austria, music of the folk and classical traditions is wonderfully alive and resonant at this time of year.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, cold day hymns, songs, lullabies, and the immortal music of BACH...on a program called WINTERSONGS 2. 

Music is by IRARI, IREN LOVASZ, MEDIAEVAL BAEBES, LISA HAMMER, JOSEPH HEBERT & MERRILL COLLINS, KITKA, TRIO MEDIEVAL, JOHANN HEINRICH SCHMELZER, and JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH.

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PGM 1030R2 'COLD and BRIGHT' : dec. 27-jan. 3

Winter settles in to the Northern hemisphere bringing powerful storms, but also radiant clear days with azure skies and deep vistas. Unlike most sensible animals, human activity seems to increase as the temperature drops, and we fill the brief days leading up to the new year with all manner of hustle and bustle.

Holiday lights twinkle in the crisp air, and while the traditional sounds of the season are warm, rich and harmonious, it's also a perfect time for intricate electronic rhythms that echo the activity, and crystalline tones that ring in the chilled atmosphere.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an Ambient/Electronic journey for early winter, on a program called COLD AND BRIGHT. Music is by BRYAN CARRIGAN, BLUETECH, FORREST SMITHSON, NATURAL FREQUENCIES, PHILLIP WILKERSON, and JUSTIN VANDERBERG.

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PGM 1096R 'AFTERGLOOM DELIGHT' : nov. 29-dec.6

The end of the euphemistically named "daylight saving time" each fall is generally greeted with a chorus of depression. Not only is it clearly the final nail in summer's coffin, it's an all too blatant reminder of the long winter ahead.

Our Celtic ancestors gathered around bonfires at this time of year to chase away the gloom and recall the Pagan and pre-Christian festivals of the sun — then looked forward to the year-end solstice and religious holidays and the festive celebration of light itself.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient chamber music for the transition to the season of light, on an early winter program called AFTERGLOOM DELIGHT. Music is by KEVIN KELLER, A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN, HELEN JANE LONG, YUTA NAGASHIMA, and BRUNO SANFILIPPO.

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PGM 1195R 'DESCENDING DARK 2' : nov. 1-8

This could be the sound of the Sugar Plum Fairies in the netherworld — we're coming up on Nutcracker time, after all — but no: it's the on-ramp to a journey into the cooling, darkening, deepening autumn soundscape. It's time to join the animals and prepare for the long winter ahead; time to focus, plan and complete those lingering projects, and get together with friends you missed over the summer. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a seasonal electronic journey in the autumn soundscape, on a program called DESCENDING DARK 2. 

Music is by SLEEPY TOWN MANUFACTURE, SOLARIS, PAULINA CASSIDY, DEBORAH MARTIN, KIT WATKINS, KLAUS SCHULZE, ERRANT SPACE, and BOB HOLROYD.

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