hearts of space | news

PGM 1380 'PLANETARY RHYTHMS' : sept. 6-13

THESE HOT SUMMER DAYS inspire a more energetic music, born out of ancient rituals, festivals, and religious ceremonies, and featuring primitive instruments whose descendants are still with us—flutes, rattles, drums, and other members of the global percussion family.

Whether played for practical communication on hunts, for social and military occasions, or to accompany artistic performances, percussion music served many functions in cultures all over the ancient world. According to Grateful Dead drummer MICKEY HART in his essential book PLANET DRUM:

“World Music—and the percussive impulse that drives it—reaches past the needs of the marketplace, into emotional and spiritual dialogue with older oral traditions. Underneath the world’s extraordinary musical diversity is another, deeper realm, in which there is no better or worse, no modern or primitive, no art music or folk music—no distinctions at all—but rather an organic compulsion to translate the emotional fact of being alive into sound, into rhythm, into something you can dance to.”

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE—an ambient/trance/world percussion journey—on a program called PLANETARY RHYTHMS. Music is by JAMES HOOD, SPACE DRUM MEDITATION, DON PEYOTE, JAMES ASHER, MICHAEL SHRIEVE, HANG MASSIVE, SHAMANIC DRUMS, BYRON METCALF, and MICKEY HART.

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

PGM 1379 'VISIONS of PARADISE : A Iasos Retrospective' - aug.23-30

IASOS—one of the inventors of New Age music, passed away in January, 2024, three days before his 78th birthday. Born in Greece, raised in upstate New York, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area in 1968, adopted the stage name Iasos, and began a nearly 50 year solo career as an independent musician. Brilliant, exuberant, and completely original, he advocated for what he called “paradise music,” and claimed that what he heard in his head was sent to him by a being from a “distant dimension” named VISTA.

His debut album from 1975 was called "Inter-Dimensional Music."  Where other New Age composers promoted music that was relaxing or healing, Iasos’s mission was nothing less than raising the “vibratory frequency” of all humanity!!  And though he often made claims that were impossible to substantiate, there could be no doubt of his absolute conviction and utter sincerity. Because of his metaphysical beliefs, and his ability to invent new methods of music production to realize them, he was able to create a body of work that was widely influential yet virtually unequaled.

His music ranged from languid technicolor tropical to intensely dramatic, with lush textures and cosmic chords; from heavenly harmonies and angelic realms, to ethereal meditations with shimmering translucent curtains of sound. The overall impression is optimistic and positive, with a sense of unbounded potential.

In addition to his music, Iasos was a tireless advocate for Visionary Art. His web site featured an online gallery of paintings and videos by kindred visual artists. He also published two DVDs of his own video art and original music—"Crystal Vista" and "Realms of Light."

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a Iasos retrospective called VISIONS OF PARADISE.

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

PGM 1378 'DEVOTION 3' : aug 9-16

IN THE LAST FOUR DECADES, the ardent world of Indian devotional music has been transformed by an international group of world and ambient musicians. Inspired by this venerable heart-centered vocal tradition called bhakti, working with both traditional and progressive Indian musicians, they've stretched the boundaries and expanded the atmosphere of the genre with electronics, echoes, reverberations, overdubs, and studio magic. Slow, deep, and meditative, with vocals in classical Sanskrit, you don't have to know anything about Indian music or religion to enjoy it.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, devotional chants and contemplative instrumentals inspired by the bhakti religious tradition of India, on a program called DEVOTION 3. Music is by WHITE SUN, RUSSILL PAUL, SHANTALA, SERENA GABRIEL, DAPHNE TSE & MIKE PSZONAK, SIVAKUMAR, and MANISH VYAS.

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

PGM 1376 'TRIBAL AMBIENT 2' : july12-19

The primal sound of prehistoric hand drums, brought to the present by space-defining ambient electronics. In the 1980s, elements of ancient indigenous music were embraced by electronic musicians searching for an earthy, vital sound to balance the dematerialized tones of electronic instruments, ground the atmospheric soundscapes of ambient, and gain the power of ritual experience.

The new genre was originally called "Techno-Tribal," but as the Techno label became associated with electronic dance music, it was renamed "Tribal Ambient." Today, the period of discovery is long past, but a dedicated group of electro-acoustic artists with a taste for rhythm-powered trance continue to explore the sound and release new music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another ethno-tronic journey on psychoactive rhythms, on a program called TRIBAL AMBIENT 2. Music is by STEVE ROACH & ROBERT RICH, BYRON METCALF + ARI URBAN & MARK SEELIG, FRORE & SHANE MORRIS, SERENA GABRIEL, SOLITAIRE, and STEVE ROACH solo.

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

PGM 1375 'AMERICAN HORIZON' : jun 28-july 5

The yearly anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, has become a festive national holiday with food, music, and fireworks, celebrated by millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds, in every part of the United States.

It’s a good time to revisit the roots of Ambient Americana—influences from American folk songs, blues, jazz, and country, classics from the American songbook, and the pan-diatonic harmonies of AARON COPLAND. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE we celebrate the spirit of American Independence, on a program called AMERICAN HORIZON.

Music is by BRIAN KEANE, MARK ISHAM, JEFF OSTER & VIN DOWNES & TOM EATON, SPENCER BREWER & PAUL McCANDLESS, GEORGE WINSTON, CHAD LAWSON, BARRY STRAMP, JOHN WILLIAMS, ("Ambient country" band) SUSS, CHUCK JOHNSON, and MARK PRESTON.

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

PGM 1374 'ENCHANTED LANDS' : june 14-21

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. 

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

PGM 1373 'CHANTRESS SEBA' : may 31-apr.7

If there's a contemporary musical group that demonstrates the enormous changes that have overtaken the music business in the last 20 years, it's the husband and wife team of singer GEMINI FOWLER, and guitarist & "handpan" player FINN MILBURN, together known as CHANTRESS SEBA.

They emerged from the north England city of Leeds, a vibrant area, but not one known for musical innovation. Nevertheless, they've been able to attract a worldwide audience of millions--and they've done it while completely ignoring the established music business.

Their main publishing and streaming platform is YouTube, where by mid-2024 they have 22 one-hour-plus "long form" videos available, which have attracted from a few hundred thousand to 3.9 MILLION views!

By taking full advantage of the internet, they've reinvented New Age music. Streaming on YouTube and promotion on social media have replaced all the functions of a conventional record company, providing a worldwide platform for their entrancing live performances, without the compromises and loss of control of a conventional recording contract.

Their music is peaceful, harmonious, and contemplative. Here's how they describe it:

"CHANTRESS SEBA, Singer of the Stars, a voice to guide us home to our hearts. Gemini's powerful ethereal vocals and channeled light language from the shining stars above, combined with Finn's earthy, spacious instrumentation, create an atmosphere of deep remembering, allowing the divine to speak to the listener through mind, body, and soul." "We create music, host ceremonies and gatherings, and provide 1 to 1 shamanic sound healing."

It's a long-form journey from one of the new frontiers of new age music: CHANTRESS SEBA...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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

PGM 1372 'ELECTRON FLOW' : may 17-24

Electronic music has come a long way in the last 50 years. Beginning in the 1960s, the arrival of affordable mass-produced analog and digital synthesizers liberated electronic music from the rigidity of academic laboratories, the iconoclasm of avant-garde theories, and the dogmas of experimental music. Equipped with powerful instruments and their own recording studios, electronic musicians were free to take ideas and influences from all kinds of popular and historical music, leading to a fruitful period of cross-fertilization, invention, and collaboration.

Early electronic instruments were notably lacking in musical expression, but they proved to be exceptionally good at creating the impression of flying and floating in vast virtual spaces. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we fly on electronic winds and float on electronic clouds, on a program called ELECTRON FLOW.

Music is by GEORGE WALLACE, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, COPAL RIVER, ROBERT SCOTT THOMPSON, STEVE ROACH, ANDREW LAHIFF, STEVE BRAND, and ADHAM SHAIKH.

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

PGM 1371 'HARMONIC WORLD' : may 3-10

"In turbulent times, ambient world musicians project calm and harmony."

It's an instinctive response to our super-charged environment, a way to transmute chaos and instability into order, reduce anxiety, restore regular breathing, and take down the temperature. Perhaps more remarkable, even in our electronic era, they do it mainly as they have for centuries — with traditional acoustic instruments and consonant harmonies.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a transcultural acoustic fusion of influences from South America, Jamaica, North Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia, and India — on a program called HARMONIC WORLD. Music is by SUZANNE TENG & GILBERT LEVY, STEPHAN MICUS, AUKAI, SHANTALA, CHANTRESS SEBA, and MIRABAI CEIBA. 

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

 

PGM 1370 'TRANSLUCENT GUITARS 2' : apr.19-26

If you've driven an electric car, you've experienced the feeling of smooth, silent power that conveys you almost effortlessly to your destination. Something similar happened to the venerable Spanish guitar when it got an electronic upgrade in the 20th century. In just a few years, a charming but limited folk instrument became a powerhouse — a vehicle for everything from heroic flights to subtle meditations.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride our favorite six string transporter to ethereal realms, on a program called 'TRANSLUCENT GUITARS 2'  Music is by ERIK WØLLO, DAVID HELPLING, HAMMOCK, JOHN GREGORIUS, JEFF PEARCE, CLIVE WRIGHT & HAROLD BUDD, CHUCK JOHNSON, and TOM CAUFIELD. 

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

PGM 1369 'TOTALITY' : apr.5-12

It's being called the "astronomical event of the decade." If you live in the middle third or the northeastern quarter of the United States—on a line from Texas to Maine—there's a good chance that a total solar eclipse of the sun will be visible on the afternoon of April 8th, 2024. Depending on the exact location, the darkening and cooling within the moon's shadow or "umbra" only lasts from two to seven and a half minutes, because the umbra moves across the earth's surface at over 1100 miles per hour.

Surprisingly, solar eclipses are not that rare. There are at least two, and up to five, somewhere on earth each year. For millennia, solar eclipses were attributed to supernatural causes or regarded as evil omens. Modern astronomers have taken most of the mystery and superstition—but not the strangeness and thrill—out of eclipses. They can now be accurately predicted hundreds of years into the future, but they still have a cosmic appeal that attracts millions of viewers and a worldwide community of "umbraphiles."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, music for a total eclipse of the sun, on a program called TOTALITY. Music is by CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, SUBDREAM, STELLARIUM, LONEWARD, ZENON MARKO, ROBERT RICH, and STEVE ROACH.

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

PGM 1368 'SACRED SONGS of DEVOTION' : mar.29-apr.5

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 by 19th 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.

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

PGM 1367 'VIBRAPHONICS' : mar.15-22

The Vibraphone is an instrument in the metallophone family with a colorful history of American invention and competition.

Metallophones evolved from the wooden marimba. The predecessor of the vibraphone called the steel marimba, was invented by the J.C. DEAGAN company in Chicago around 1916. The first "vibraphone" was introduced in 1924 by LEEDY Manufacturing in Indianapolis. It was based on the Deagan steel marimba, and featured a vibrato effect created by a motor-driven fan inside the resonator tubes below each note. Not to be outdone, three years later the Deagan Company introduced an improved vibraphone, with better sounding tuned aluminum bars, and a damper mechanism operated by a foot pedal. It was an immediate success and became the model for all subsequent vibraphones.

By the 1930's the instrument was well-established in the burgeoning jazz scene at the hands of virtuoso players like Lionel Hampton. In addition to jazz, the vibraphone became part of the standard classical orchestra percussion section, and the standard college-level percussion performance curriculum. In the 1970's this led to use of vibraphones and marimbas in contemporary Minimalist music by Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and later in New Classical and Ambient. That's where we're going on this transmission of Hearts of Space, called VIBRAPHONICS.

Music is by GARY BURTON & CHICK COREA, PETER GARLAND, JASPON TREUTING, HANG MASSIVE, MICHAEL JON FINK, OLIVIÉR ALARY, OCEAN MOON, and GARY BURTON & PAUL BLEY.  

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

PGM 1366 'ELECTRON TRAVELER 6' : mar.1-8

The current boom in "immersive media" includes computer-assisted VR or Virtual Reality, AR or Augmented Reality, AR and VR glasses and headsets, immersive video games and films, panoramic projections, spatial audio systems, and specially designed theaters and concert venues, like The Sphere in Las Vegas. Regardless of size or complexity, they all have a similar purpose: to augment our existing world, or transport us to fantastic new synthetic worlds.

Interactivity and connectivity are the focus of these new technologies, but there's an older, simpler, more passive technology that can transport listeners to virtual worlds just by listening—electronic music.

It's been over a hundred years since the invention of practical electronic instruments, and the power of electronic sound to take us to exotic tonal and even cosmic environments is well-known to both musicians and listeners. On Hearts of Space, we've been documenting it for over 40 years, with hundreds of programs dedicated to the art of virtual travel on electronic waves. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's another journey in our electronic touring series, on a program called ELECTRON TRAVELER 6. Music is by THIERRY DAVID, MARTIN STÜRTZER, DREAMSTATE LOGIC, SUBDREAM, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, STEVE ROACH, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.

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

PGM 1365 'EUROJAZZ' : feb.16-23

The British jazz saxophonist and clarinetist JOHN SURMAN has a style that's described as "intensely lyrical," a quality he attributes to his time as a choirboy, and his upbringing in the verdant landscapes of rural west England. Surman sees the 20th century origins of jazz by black musicians in the U.S. as a melting pot of world music, with African, Creole, Spanish and other influences. These were eventually transformed into the speed and virtuosity of Bebop, which dominated jazz at mid-century.

Between the world wars, Europe had become a major venue for American jazz musicians. The genre took on influences from European folk and classical music, as well as a wider range of world influences from the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. As a result, European jazz tended to be less abstract, more melodic, and more atmospheric than American jazz. The essential German jazz and New Music label ECM, founded in 1969, continues to document this repertoire in a catalog of over 1800 superb recordings, from which this program is drawn.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, lyrical jazz from Europe with a focus on Norway, a small country that produces a remarkable amount of great music, on a program called EUROJAZZ. Music is by the TORD GUSTAVSEN QUARTET, TERJE RYPDAL, JOHN SURMAN, ARVE HENRIKSEN & HARMEN FRAANJE, THOMAS STRØNEN, CRAIG TABORN, and KRISTJAN RANDALU with BEN MONDER and MARKKU OUNASKARI. 

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

PGM 1364 'ATMOSPHERIC CLASSICAL' : feb.2-9

The evolution of western classical art music is a story of evolving cultures, developing instruments, and continuous musical innovation. Over the course of some twelve centuries, acoustic strings, winds, horns, keyboards, and percussion instruments evolved into the symphony orchestra, as well as smaller groups: string orchestras, horn and wind ensembles, and intimate string quartets, trios, and duos. Each group was designed for a specific kind of music and social occasion.

The arrival of electronic instruments in the 20th century was a disruptive innovation that stimulated a different response than the slow evolution of acoustic instruments. Electronics promised the composer freedom from acoustic limitations, the ability to design completely new tones and new instruments, create spatial sound images and virtual environments. In time, these new capabilities led to new genres like Electronic Space and Ambient, with expansive cosmic spaces, infinite floating worlds, and subtle textures.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore the intersection of classical form and ambient electronics, on program called ATMOSPHERIC CLASSICAL. Music is by MAX RICHTER, A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN, CHRISTIAN WITTMAN, HAMMOCK, JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON and JONAS COLSTRUP, WILLLIAM ST. HUGH, and BOB HOLROYD.

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

PGM 1363 'WINTERTONES 3' : jan.19-26

AT THE NADIR OF WINTER, the time of deepest cold and lowest natural activity, the sound of the resonant percussion family of instruments takes on an uncanny appeal. The metallophones—bells, bowls, gongs, chimes, and cymbals—speak eloquently in the chilled, quiet air.

Bells have been with us for over four thousand years. Besides everyday functions like sounding the time, they’ve played an essential role in religious ceremonies around the world. For hundreds of years, Christian churches used them for both. 

More recently, metallic and quartz crystal bells, bowls, and gongs have become central to Sound Healing and group meditation practices, as well as personal rituals. Simple, relatively inexpensive, powerful tools for creating sacred space, bells are adapting to the changes in religion and personal spirituality.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a meditative journey for resonant percussion, on a program called WINTERTONES 3. Music is by SHAWN FEENEY, SCOTT LAWLOR, TRYSHE DHEVNEY, 33 BOWLS, and featuring veteran San Francisco bell ringer KARMA MOFFETT.

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

 

 

 

PGM 1362 'WINTER CALM' : jan.5-12

WINTER brings a special challenge for ambient musicians—a wider range of atmospheric, visual, and sonic themes than other seasons. In the northern hemisphere, the chilled arctic latitudes and mountain heights see powerful storms with snow, sleet, and ice, creating a frozen world of winter white; on the temperate coasts, we have cycles of rain — a fertile world of winter wet; while in the southern latitudes, it’s a cool world of winter green.

On clear winter nights, as the temperature drops, activity slows and stops. Nature rests...in a quiet world of meditative stillness, under the slowly changing cosmic panorama.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, chilled ambient soundscapes for quiet winter nights, on a program called WINTER CALM. Music is by PANGAEA PROJECT, ISOSTATIC, ÓLAFUR ARNALDS, ARIN AKSBERG, BIOSPHERE, NETHERWORLD, AMONGST MYSELVES, JEFF GREINKE, and STORMLOOP. 

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

PGM 1361 'WINTERSONGS 3' : dec.15-22

Those of us who live in the temperate zone between the polar and tropical latitudes, are used to distinctive seasons, and the biggest distinction of all is between summer and winter.  The differences—in weather, in the natural world, and in the animal kingdom—are dramatic, and they add up to a completely different sonic atmosphere in winter.

For composers of sacred music for the winter religious celebrations, it’s led to a seasonal repertoire with special sounds, like bells and chimes; special instruments, like the pipe organ; and massed singing, in choral groups of all sizes. While for ambient composers, a new world of chilled sound design and thematic expression opens up in winter.  

In the 1970s, composer ARVO PÄRT from far north Estonia, abandoned rigid academic avant-garde formulas, and invented a new compositional system called tintinnabuli, inspired by bells, Medieval plainsong, Gregorian chant, Renaissance liturgical music, and contemporary Minimalism.

The combination of slow, unchanging tempos, consonant harmonies, and minimalist simplicity created a sublime sacred atmosphere, which seemed to fill a spiritual void in the audience. Pärt’s music became so popular that he inspired a new genre called mystic or sacred minimalism, which remains a powerful influence on classical and ambient musicians worldwide.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, sacred choral and instrumental music for the season, on a program called 'WINTERSONGS 3.' Music is by DAVID ARKENSTONE, ARVO PÄRT, LIBERA, VOCES8, OLA GJEILO. and PAUL AVGERINOS.

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

PGM 1360 'EVENSONG' : dec.1-8

Unless you've studied medieval history, it's hard to imagine how different life in Europe must have been in the 1100's—a pre-scientific, pre-industrial world of manual labor, general illiteracy, baffling pandemics, and short lives—dominated from birth to death by the Catholic church.

In this environment, one figure stands out, not least because she was a woman—the great German composer, writer, philosopher, visionary, mystic, and saint HILDEGARD VON BINGEN.

Her music is beautiful, elegant, and sounds surprisingly modern. In addition to her music, she founded two monasteries, invented the scientific study of natural history, wrote books on theology and medicine, and composed hymns, chants, poems, and liturgical dramas. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a Contemporary-Medieval journey, featuring interpretations of 12th century sacred vocal music by HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, plus original music inspired by her work, on a program called EVENSONG.

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

PGM 1359 'HEALING WINDS' : nov. 10-17

THE FLUTE is perhaps the oldest musical instrument—a primitive but effective technology for turning breath into resonant sound, and eventually turning structured sound into music.

Flutes arrived about 50,000 years ago in diverse cultures around the prehistoric world. In Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, ancient artisans made early flutes from reeds and grasses, and the hollow bones of animals and birds. The Anasazi tribes of the American Southwest made simple end-blown flutes from the soft, aromatic wood of western cedar trees. They were said to be used for courtship and healing. Typically tuned to a pentatonic minor scale, their plaintive sound seems to resonate with the wistful emotions of the fall season and the endless spaces of the Southwestern desert.

The Native American flute was revived in the 1960s by the pioneering native label Canyon Records, who released hundreds of albums by native artists, including flute recordings by R.Carlos Nakai and others. The instrument became popular in the burgeoning New Age genre in the 1970s and 80s, and new age artists expanded into electronics, guitars, and other popular instruments. Today, the native flute scene is less active, but a core group of committed artists continue to extend the artistic dimensions of the genre, while the cedar flute is increasingly popular for therapeutic applications.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an autumn journey in the gentle world of the Native American flute, on a program called HEALING WINDS. Music is by COYOTE OLDMAN, JOHNNY WHITEHORSE, JONN SERRIE & GARY STROUTSOS, KENNETH HOOPER, KIRK MONTEUX, JENN STEEGE, and ANN LICATER.

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

PGM 1358 'DARKTIME ATMOSPHERES' : oct.27-nov.3

The Dark Ambient genre evolved out of the Industrial, Experimental, and Noise genres of the 1970s. The arrival of affordable synthesizers, samplers, and effects units in the 1980’s led to more complex styles like Ritual Industrial, Black and Doom Metal, Dark Wave, Gothic, and who can forget the reverberating chains and tortured screams of Dungeon Synth?

Our yearly immersion in the morbid emotions of fear, death, and horror at Halloween, provides an insight into the more aesthetic and environmental qualities of Dark Ambient. Whereas the horror genres aim to shock and terrify, Dark Ambient seeks merely to disturb, evoke feelings of isolation, melancholy, and confinement, and reflect an atmosphere of gloom and darkness. 

I'm DR. DARKO, and on this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a subterranean underworld journey for Halloween, on a program called DARKTIME ATMOSPHERES. Music is by BRANNAN LANE, CHRISTIAN WITTMAN, SUN'S MUSE, SHIBALBA, REMANENCE, YEN POX, INSECTARIUM, and TOR LUNDVALL.

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

PGM 1357 'AUTUMN TWILIGHT' : oct.13-20

Of all the seasons, fall is the one that comes with the most mixed emotions: relief at the return of moderate temperatures, pleasure at nature’s autumn color show, and a feeling of melancholy at the darkening of the light.

Technical interventions like Daylight Saving Time can’t hide the fact that the amount of daylight is decreasing. In the northern hemisphere, we’re counting down to the Winter Solstice—the shortest day of the year, around December 21st.

For ambient musicians, fall offers a darker palette, more somber harmonies, and a call to explore deeper feelings. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we descend into the dimming light of fall, on a program called AUTUMN TWILIGHT.

Music is by TOM EATON, BOB HOLROYD, SUBDREAM, DEEPSPACE, STEVE ROACH, and RUSSEL WALDER.

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

PGM 1355 'SUMMER'S END 2' : sept.15-22

After the burn of our increasingly intense summers—now featuring epic fires and floods in the wake of biblical storms and record-breaking heat waves—we emerge into the relatively cooler, quieter atmosphere and deflationary energy of early autumn. It's a time to regroup, recharge, rebuild, harvest, and prepare for the challenges of the winter season to come.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from Canadian guest producer DJ EGAN, a journey down the endless monochromatic hallways, complex timbres and metallic overtones of Ambient Cool, on a program called SUMMER'S END 2. Music is by YAI, AGING + LAND TRANCE, POLIDO, NIKOS FOKAS & ARVE HENRIKSEN, JON HASSELL, JOSEPH, PHIL STROUD, RONU MAJUMBAR + RY COODER, JON HASSELL & ABHIJIT BANERJEE, and CHRISTIAN WITTMAN.

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

 

PGM 1354 'WILD SANCTUARY' : sept.1-8

Trick question: Before recordings, before electronics, even before history, what was the original form of ambient music? Here’s a hint: it’s not what we normally call music, but it has a lot in common with music.

​The answer is the natural soundscape: a combination of the geophony—non-biological natural sounds like wind, waves, water, and weather, and the biophony—the sounds produced by all the non-human organisms in a given habitat.

​Documenting the natural soundscape has been the life work of “soundscape ecologist” BERNIE KRAUSE, who’s been recording and archiving natural soundscapes from around the world since 1979. Our 3-D sound localization ability is based on the evolutionary advantage of being able to identify the location, direction, and distance of ambient sounds—and it’s this sensibility we use when we listen to ambient music.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, the magical combination of ambient nature sounds and ambient music...on a program called WILD SANCTUARY.

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