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PGM 1314 'STELLAR QUEST' : apr.1-8

When we listen to ambient electronic music, the first question is "Where am I?" 

From the names of the artists and the titles of the music, one of the most popular locations is cosmic space, and the virtual experience of flying through it and floating in it. What's the appeal? Well, in the now politically incorrect language of Star Trek — the thrill of going "where no man has gone before," the promise of adventure, and the bliss of expanding into vast, limitless space.

All this is despite the fact that real interstellar space is either a frigid vacuum hundreds of degrees below zero, or super-hot filaments of ionized plasma at 100,000 degrees or more, shot through by lethal streams of cosmic radiation from stars. In short, not a very hospitable place for delicate humans. And it takes decades to visit the neighbors. A virtual sonic journey is safer, warmer, and ultimately more satisfying.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey through endless starfields and brilliant galaxies, on a program called STELLAR QUEST. Music is by STARTERRA, DEEPSPACE, TERMINUS VOID, DREAMSTATE LOGIC, and TRANSPONDER.

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PGM 1313 'PIANO PURO' : mar.25 - apr.1

A quiet movement in contemporary music got started unintentionally in 1973, when a lanky, laid back American folk musician named GEORGE WINSTON released an album of ballads, blues, and ragtime called PIANO SOLOS. Influenced by the folk music revival of the 1960s, it was a modest success that attracted the attention of the rising Windham Hill label. In 1980 Winston released AUTUMN, an album of impressionistic solo piano ballads that caught the spirit of the times, sold over a million copies, and helped establish the success of what later came to be called New Age music.

Of course, European classical composers had been writing sophisticated music for solo piano ever since the pianoforte was invented at the beginning of the 18th century. But Winston's "rural folk piano" (as he called it) was something different: simple, lyrical, quiet, imagistic, and American as cherry pie. By avoiding the technical virtuosity and complexity of European classical music, Winston opened up a populist alternative. Today, musicians all over the world continue to create personal music for solo piano that combines the sophistication of European classical with the effortless appeal of folk music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a program of recent contemplative music for solo piano called PIANO PURO. Music is by NILS FRAHM, LUDOVICO EINAUDI, MAX RICHTER, RODELIUS & TIM STORY, PETE KUZMA, and MATTHEW LABARGE.

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PGM 1312 'BEYOND EARTH & SKY' : mar. 18-25

What makes ambient electronic spacemusic different from other music genres?

Well, think of it as a kind of sonic "imagery" — a term from literature, art history, and photography. But unlike literary or pictorial images, the sound images of ambient electronic music reveal an underlying quest for psychological expansion into a world of infinite space, and ultimately, a way to transcend the limits of the physical world we live in.

In the formative years of ambient and electronic spacemusic in the 1970's and 80's, leading artists influenced by the ecology and environmental movements explored terrestrial themes, with albums like "SEA & SKY" by Japanese progressive musician STOMU YAMASH'TA, and "EARTH" and "SOIL FESTIVITIES" by VANGELIS. Other electronic artists found earthly themes too limited, sought release in the vastness of cosmic and contemplative space, and created the ambient soundscape we have today.

That quest for expansion is still with us, not just in music, but as a plan for human survival in ELON MUSK's project to colonize Mars. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we embrace the quest for infinite space...on a program called BEYOND EARTH AND SKY. Music is by MICHAEL STEARNS & STEVE ROACH, MICHAEL STEARNS & ERIK WØLLO, MASSERGY, ANDREW LAHIFF, and MAX CORBACHO. 

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PGM 1311 'WINTER'S END' : mar. 4-11

Here on Hearts of Space, we regularly sing the praises of electronic sound, and its more or less unlimited ability to create ambient environments. Traditional acoustic instruments are the contrasting case — their limits are "built in" to their physical shape. But they come with one big advantage: what they lack in sonic flexibility, they make up for in inherent musicality. They are, after all, designed and built to be musical instruments.

One longtime Hearts of Space core artist who works exclusively with acoustic instruments is German musician STEPHAN MICUS. Since 1977 and 24 unique albums for the respected ECM label, he's searched the world for unusual and evocative instruments, sought out local musicians to teach him their secrets, and then used them in completely non-traditional ways in his recordings. Yet, far from limited, his music is deeply contemplative and pervaded with a generous sense of space.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we take a timely theme from the title of the 2021 album by STEPHAN MICUS called WINTER'S END. Music is by SUZANNE TENG & GILBERT LEVY, STEPHAN MICUS, AUKAI, GEORG REISS, the late DJIVAN GASPARYAN, and the LIAN ENSEMBLE.

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PGM 1310 'A NEW MUSIC IMMERSION' : feb.25-mar.4

The Venn diagram was invented in the 1880s by English mathematician JOHN VENN, to show the logical relation between sets. The overlapping circles of the diagram show where different sets have characteristics in common.

The Venn diagram of Ambient Music includes radically different genres: traditional folk ballads, classical adagios and choral music, cool jazz, ethnic and religious music, electronics, drones, and avant-garde and experimental music.

What these different genres have in common is a sensibility — a taste for slow, contemplative, space-creating, even trance-inducing sounds, and an appreciation of the magic of slow tempos, harmonic relationships, and spatial imagery.

In the 20th century, classical music evolved in many non-traditional directions. For a while it was thrown into a generic category simply called "New Music." More conceptual and experimental than other approaches, it's given us a consistently important catalog of ambient and contemplative music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on music by MICHAEL HARRISON, JASON TREUTING, CHAS SMITH, JOHN LUTHER ADAMS, and RICK COX from the COLD BLUE and CANTALOUPE MUSIC labels — on a program called A NEW MUSIC IMMERSION.

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PGM 1309 'TRANQUILITY GATE' : feb.18-25

Let us imagine, dear listener, the plight of an electronic musician. Even in a very modest studio, he or she commands a near-infinite choice of sounds to work with, and a near-infinite number of ways to modify and transform them. That's near-infinity squared — a paralyzingly large number. This "paradox of choice" once moved ambient godfather BRIAN ENO to declare that when working with electronic instruments, limitations are good.

Acoustic instruments evolved over the centuries to be playable, and support musical expression. They require physical skill to master, but once learned, they become familiar and dependable. Electronic instruments can be orders of magnitude more complex; their ergonomics run the gamut from limited to virtually unplayable, and they've now become constantly evolving software, challenging even the most technically competent.

Electronic keyboard instruments are a strategic compromise: they aim to combine the playability of an acoustic keyboard with the infinite sonic potential of electronics. But all those knobs, patch cords, processors, and choices tend to slow down the creation and performance of electronic music. For acoustic music that's a limitation, but ambient-electronic artists have embraced it to focus on slowly evolving, contemplative soundscapes and therapeutic sound journeys.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, why slow is good in electronic music, on a program called TRANQUILITY GATE.  Music is by HINTERLAND, APERUS, STEVE ROACH, MATTHEW FLORIANZ, and KELLY DAVID.

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PGM 1308 'NORTHERN NIGHTS 3' : feb. 4-11

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 1307 'PERSEVERANCE' : jan.28 - feb.4

We're at the nadir of winter in the Northern Hemisphere — a time when the yearlong journey around our native star seems endless. Battered by recurring storms, cold and tired, starved for light, ready for change...we have no choice but to wait for the return of the sun and the fresh promise of spring.

As if that wasn't hard enough, in the third winter of a historic pandemic we're impatient for the return of "normal." Yet the virus is a relentless adversary. So we continue: it's a time for patience, diligence, and persistence. With its slow pace, ambient-electronic music can expand our frame of reference, reduce our impatience, and soothe our anxieties.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, electro-acoustic music to promote courage and stamina, on a program called PERSEVERANCE. Music is by HAMMOCK, JUHA-MATTI RAUTIAINEN, IN THE BRANCHES, ERIK WØLLO, JEFF PEARCE, EYES CAST DOWN, ROBIN GUTHRIE and HAROLD BUDD.

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PGM 1306 'MYSTIC MESSIAEN' : jan.14-21

The 20th century French composer OLIVIER MESSIAEN was a musical modernist during a revolutionary period in classical music, an unabashed Romantic, and a devoutly religious Catholic who spent most of his long life playing organ in churches and cathedrals.

He reconciled these apparent polarities by following an artistic path that was unique and original. Along with complex, innovative contemporary music that ranged in intensity from serene to volcanic, he created a vast catalogue of religious program music inspired by his deep faith. It's been described as "a glowing vision of hope and transcendence for the 21st century, through faith in music, love, and the divine."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on Messiaen's religious and contemplative music, on a program called MYSTIC MESSIAEN.

We feature two of his masterpieces for organ — LA NATIVITÉ DU SEIGNEUR and LE BANQUET CÉLESTE, O SACRUM CONVIVIUM for chorus, two movements from L'ASCENSION for strings and brass, and an ethereal movement from FÊTE DES BELLES EAUX, for an ensemble of pioneering French electronic keyboards called Ondes Martenot.

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PGM 1305 'WINTER LIGHT 2' : jan.7-14

Winter...drains the color from the landscape and leaves behind a subtle monochromatic palette of grays, browns, and blues; and after snow...a magical world of white. The winter atmospheres range from bright sun with airy transparent blues, to chilled mist, dense fog, and skies threatened by sullen clouds.

In the far north, time seems to slow. It's a vast, lonely, contemplative environment that's inspired an electronic genre called "isolationist ambient." On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, the immersive sound of winter atmospheres, on a program called WINTER LIGHT 2.

Music is by YAGYA, BANCO DE GAIA, SEETYCA, ERIK WØLLO, ISOSTATIC, PHILLIP WILKERSON & CHRIS RUSSELL, LOSCIL, and IAN BODDY+ERIK WØLLO.

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PGM 1304 'CANTO ELECTRONICO' : dec.31 - jan.7

The best-kept secret in European minimalism must be the late Dutch composer SIMEON TEN HOLT, who died in 2012. After experimenting with complex chromaticism and serialism early in his career, Ten Holt arrived at his own style of "humanized" minimalism: infused with traditional musical values, rhythmically rigorous, wonderfully melodic, and flexible in performance.

His most famous piece, composed in 1976, is called CANTO OSTINATO, which in Italian means "obstinate song," a reference to its continuous, repeating quintuplet rhythm base: 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5. Its structure is based on 106 "cells" of a few phrases each which allow great latitude for repeats and interpretation by the performers. The piece can take from two hours to more than a day, and there are dozens of versions for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pianos, pianos plus organ, harp, or marimba, pipe organ, strings, and synthesizer.

Canto Ostinato has been a popular phenomenon in the Netherlands for 40 years and hundreds of sold out performances. Despite its appeal, it's hardly ever been performed or broadcast in the U.S. We tried to help fix that a couple of years ago when we featured a mesmerizing live version for two pianos, performed by the Dutch husband/wife duo JEROEN and SANDRA VAN VEEN.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we kick off the new year with a buoyant, energetic version for synthesizer, programmed and performed by SANDRA and JEROEN VAN VEEN. Simeon Ten Holt's CANTO OSTINATO for synthesizer; let's call it CANTO ELECTRONICO, on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1303 'WINTERTRONIC 2' : dec.17-24

December...brings both powerful storms and clear, cold, silent nights that incline toward the holy as we approach the holiday season. We try to put aside the conflicts and challenges of the present day, and display the finer spirits and better angels of our nature. We celebrate the season with a radiance of light and color, hymns and songs, food and gifts, generosity and kindness.

For ambient musicians, it's a time to blend the warmth and intimacy of traditional acoustic music with the mysterious floating spaces of electronic music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, calm and bright soundscapes for the season, on a program called WINTERTRONIC 2. 

Music is by KEVIN KELLER, ECHO SEASON, ROBERT RICH, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, MAX CORBACHO, PAUL AVGERINOS, and SENSITIVE CHAOS.

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PGM 1302 'KINDRED SPIRITS' : dec.3-10

The story of Windham Hill Records is both a story of success, and a cautionary tale. From its emergence in the heart of Silicon Valley in 1976 as a tiny independent label for co-founder WILL ACKERMAN's ironically low-tech solo acoustic guitar music, it became the poster child for the emerging genre that was eventually dubbed New Age by the record industry ten years later.

Described as "instrumental, acoustic, and mellow," with high quality analogue recordings on vinyl and tasteful minimalist graphics, Windham Hill got distribution from one of the major labels, expanded its roster with kindred acoustic artists like pianist GEORGE WINSTON and guitarist MICHAEL HEDGES, and went on to sell millions of records.

So...success, but there's a big difference between music, and the music business. The pressure was intense, and Will Ackerman wasn't happy. He never wanted to be a corporate record executive, so he sold his half of the company in 1992 and retired to a farm in rural Vermont.

That would normally be the end of the story, but Ackerman was still relatively young and wanted to get back to making music. So he built a recording studio on the property, teamed up with ace engineers CORIN NELSEN and TOM EATON, and began to record and produce other acoustic artists. A few years later he started another independent label, but this time — he stayed independent.

And that's where the story takes a creative turn. In over twenty years of working with hundreds of compatible musicians, Ackerman began to collaborate as an acoustic guitarist as well as a producer, which led to participation in instrumental "supergroups" like FLOW (in 2019) with trumpeter JEFF OSTER, guitarist LAWRENCE BLATT, pianist FIONA JOY HAWKINS, and triple-threat artist-engineer-producer TOM EATON; and (in 2021) with JEFF OSTER and TOM EATON in BROTHERS.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we feature music from BROTHERS and congenial acoustic and electro-acoustic artists, on a program called KINDRED SPIRITS. It's about finding your true artistic family. Music is by WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER & TOM EATON, TOM EATON solo, RUSSELL WALDER, TIM STORY, LAURENCE FURR, and ECHO COLLECTIVE.

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PGM 1301 'CONTEMPLATIONS' : nov. 19-26

For centuries, music has been used to lead listeners into deep, quiet meditative states. The goal of this music is healing, self-realization and spiritual communion. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen a steady growth of popular music to calm our hyper-stimulated nervous systems and support inner experience. Whether it's the sublime adagios of early classical music, the simple, consonant tonalities of New Age, the sophisticated orchestrations of contemporary sacred minimalism, or the expansive spatial experiences of ambient — we seek the pleasures and benefits of psychoactive sound.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, a program called CONTEMPLATIONS, featuring music by MAX RICHTER, plus HANS ZIMMER, JAMI SIEBER, DIETRICH BUXTEHUDE, SIEUR de SAINTE-COLOMBE, ANTONIO VIVALDI, JORDI SAVALL & HESPERIAN XXI.

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PGM 1300 'A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT' : nov. 12-19

And so it has come to pass, dear spacefans, that in the dark days of late autumn in the year 2021, we arrive at the 1300th transmission of the HEARTS of SPACE series. I'm STEPHEN HILL, and befitting the occasion, it's another of our centennial specials called A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT.

The term "dark ambient" was coined in the early 1990s by ROGER KARMANIK, founder of the record label Cold Meat Industry, to describe the music of RAISON d'ETRE and similar artists. The style is a gene-splicing of the Industrial, Ambient, Drone, and Noise genres, including the experimental side of early 1970s German electronic music — fondly dubbed 'Krautrock' — and the Industrial Music of the late 1970s & early 80s, such as the band THROBBING GRISTLE.

During the 1980s, LUSTMORD, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS & ZOVIET FRANCE were among the first to create consistently dark ambient music, featuring low drones and distressed chorales, liberally seasoned with industrial noise and electronic special effects. In the early 1990s RAISON D'ETRE augmented the industrial imagery with medieval iconography.

During the late 80s & early 90s, a slower, more ethereal side of Gothic art rock emerged, called "ethereal wave" or "dark wave," including many of the early artists on the Projekt label. And an even more austere sub-genre called "Isolationist Ambient" arrived quietly in the 1990s, including the music of THOMAS KÖNER from Germany and BIOSPHERE from Norway.

It's Program 1300 : A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT, on this transmission...of Hearts of Space. Music is by RAISON D'ETRE, POPOL VUH, LIGHTWAVE, VOICE OF EYE + LIFE GARDEN, THOMAS KÖNER, BIOSPHERE, BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, ROBERT RICH + B.LUSTMORD, TROUM, PAUL SCHÜTZE, and RHYTHM & NOISE.

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PGM 1299 'OMINOUS' : oct.29 - nov.5

If you're feeling masochistic, turn on the unrelenting stream of disaster, tragedy, and malfeasance that passes for "news" in these troubled times. Is it any wonder that each year at the end of October we celebrate a Celtic and medieval Christian holiday haunted by death, decay, and supernatural dark spirits?

For ambient musicians, it's a time for deep drones, disembodied voices, melancholy wailing, gloomy strings, and a dark galaxy of electronic and environmental effects. On this Halloween transmission of Hearts of Space, we embrace the gathering gloom with a program of cathartic dark ambient atmospheres called...OMINOUS.

Music is by SOUND PHENOMENON, ATRIUM CARCERI, GEORGE WALLACE, MONOCUBE, TOM JENSEN, MYUU, SUSPERIA-ELECTRICA, and SOUNDING THE DEEP.

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PGM 1298 'SHADOWLANDS 2' : oct.22-29

Autumn brings transformations both subtle and powerful. The shadows lengthen as the focus of the sun moves south below the equator. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we now experience rapid seasonal climate change on top of slow global climate change. It's a transition marked by familiar changes in temperature, color, and activity in the natural world, disrupted by increasingly extreme weather events.

For ambient musicians, it's a time for complex tone colors burnished with glints of silver and gold, bittersweet harmonies, descending progressions, and gently melancholy emotions.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we transition to the darkening electro-acoustic soundscapes of autumn, on a program called SHADOWLANDS 2. Music is by MYCHAEL DANNA & TIM CLÉMENT, STEVE ROACH & MICHAEL STEARNS, MIGUEL NOYA, CLIFF MARTINEZ, ALEX HAAS, and LISA BELLA DONNA.  

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PGM 1297 'COSMIC ELECTRONIC 3' : oct. 8-15

The powerful creative stimulus that came with the first wave of popular electronic instruments was nowhere more intense than Germany in the early 1970s. In Berlin, a young drummer named KLAUS SCHULZE began working with early electronic instruments. He was a founding member of important bands like ASHRA and TANGERINE DREAM, but soon went solo with a series of groundbreaking albums that established a cosmic sound and a musical language that's still influential today—combining native electronic ornaments, trancey sequencer rhythms, and electronic string lines inspired by his hero, RICHARD WAGNER.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space we're back in our comfort zone, with another classic spacemusic journey called COSMIC ELECTRONIC 3. Music is by KLAUS SCHULZE, COSMIC REPLICANT, EXTRAWORLD, JUTA TAKAHASHI, NIMANTY, DREAMSTATE LOGIC, SPACECRAFT, and JONN SERRIE.

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PGM 1296 'CELLO ELEGIES' : oct. 1-8

Like sopranos, the violins get all the attention. The violas, famously, get ignored. But of all the orchestral string instruments, the real star is the cello. In its low range, it anchors the string section; as a solo instrument, it soars with a beautifully lyrical singing voice; while in the studio, its four octave range is a compact string orchestra in one instrument. So for range, tone, versatility, and expression, the cello is unsurpassed — and it sounds especially right in the fall.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE from longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, we follow the cello to the emotional heart of autumn, on a program called CELLO ELEGIES.

Music performed by 2CELLOS, STJEPAN HAUSER, MICHAEL HOPPÉ & MARTIN TILLMAN, JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER, YO-YO MA, JACQUELINE DU PRE, SHEKU KANNEH-MASON, MATHEW BARLEY, BARRY PHILLIPS, FRETWORK, and JORDI SAVALL & HESPERION XXI.

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PGM 1295 'AUTUMN WINDS' : sept.24-oct.1

The transition to autumn is marked by shorter days, cooler nights, and deepening colors. As the sun drops inexorably lower in the sky here in the northern hemisphere, the natural world begins the transformation to a colder, darker season scented with "the perfume of decay."

In music, the complex tones and smoky timbres of the woodwind family—the oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon—bring a sonic analog of the changing atmosphere. Writer MARIA POPOVA calls it "a bewildering harmonic of the transcendent and the transient."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, autumnal ambient for woodwinds and electronics, on a program called AUTUMN WINDS. Music is by RUSSEL WALDER, DEBORAH MARTIN & JILL HALEY, ALTUS, ANDREW LAHIFF, and MAX RICHTER.

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PGM 1294 'DEVOTION 2' : sept. 10-17

Over the last 30 years, the gentle world of Indian devotional music has been updated and transformed by an international group of ambient musicians. Inspired by this venerable heart-centered tradition, often working with authentic Indian musicians, they've stretched the boundaries and expanded the atmospheres of the genre with electronic drones, echoes and reverberations, overdubs, and studio magic. Slow, deep, and meditative, you don't have to know anything about Indian music or religion to enjoy it.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient excursions in Indian devotional music—on a program called DEVOTION 2. Music is by HANS CHRISTIAN, GARY STROUTSOS & STEVIN McNAMARA, BEN LEINBACH, CRAIG PRUESS & ANURADHA PAUDWAL, MARK SEELIG, and AL GROMER KHAN.

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PGM 1293 'SYMMETRY' : sept. 3-10

Across the spectrum of Ambient, Electronic, New Classical and New Age music we find a common metaphor: the journey. It's music for virtual travel, for progressive ascent towards a goal, arrival at an apex, descent, and return.

New York composer ZENON MARKO has given classic architectural form to the experience by making it rigorously symmetrical. His album SYMMETRY, he says, "is a musically symmetrical journey — whether physical, intellectual, imaginary, emotional, psychological, or spiritual." As if serious music wasn't already difficult enough, the entire album is symmetrical, with the descending sections as actual reverses of the ascents.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the power of form, and the powerful sound of heroic ambient electronics, on a program called SYMMETRY. Music is by ZENON MARKO, SENSUALISM, KEVIN KELLER, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, HAMMOCK, MAX RICHTER, and TOM EATON.

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PGM 1292 'SUFI SOUL 3' : aug. 27-jun.3

The mystical, inward-facing order of Sufism goes back to the very beginning of the Islamic religion in the 8th century. It has parallels to the venerable traditions of Buddhist and Hindu mysticism, and aims for direct union with God by purifying the heart. The work of the Persian Sufi poet RUMI has achieved worldwide popularity for its beauty and insight, and a body of Sufi music evolved to accompany religious practices and meditation—most famously the "whirling dervishes" of the Mevlevi order in Turkey—creating a genre that's not only alive today, but producing new strains of spiritual music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we revisit the contemplative heart of Middle Eastern music, on a program called 'SUFI SOUL 3.' Music by ZIKR PROJECT, DHAFER YOUSSEF, ANOUAR BRAHEM, ELIYAHU SILLS, ALEX KHASKIN, MICHEL BANABILA with MEMET POLAT, ÜMLAUT, & SALAR ASID, DEREK & BRANDON FIECHTER, ABE HATHOT, and PAUL AVGERINOS & OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK.

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PGM 1291 'GONG-CHIME IMMERSION' : aug. 6-13

The traditional Gamelan music of Indonesia originated almost two thousand years ago. It has a sound and spirit all its own, with influences from bronze age metallurgy, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. The complex rhythms and shimmering sound of the metallophone orchestra of bells, gongs, chimes, cymbals and xylophones — plus skin drums, bamboo flutes, strings and vocals — has fascinated Europeans since Gamelan ensembles performed at the Paris Exposition of 1889.

In the 20th century, an elite group of western composers including ERIK SATIE, JOHN CAGE, LOU HARRISON, HARRY PARTCH, STEVE REICH, PHILIP GLASS, and others took the traditional gamelan sound in new directions, creating new instruments and orchestrations and later adding the ethereal dimension of electronics.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient hybrids inspired by the gamelan music of Indonesia, on a program called GONG-CHIME IMMERSION. Music is by LOREN NERELL, DAVID PARSONS, JON IVERSON, DANIEL SCHMIDT and THE BERKELEY GAMELAN, EVERGREEN CLUB CONTEMPORARY GAMELAN, and JALAN JALAN.

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PGM 1290 'ELECTRONIC FOSSILS' : july 30-aug 6

Electronic music is everywhere today, so it's surprising to learn that as a popular genre it's only about 50 years old. While the earliest examples go back to the late 19th century, until the 1960s electronic music was rare, expensive, and almost exclusively the domain of obscure academic and experimental musicians.

These early theorists realized that electronics would vastly expand the tones and timbres available to composers. This led to popular electronic versions of Bach and Debussy, and electro-acoustic combinations of conventional and electronic instruments. More seriously, it led to a revival of so-called "tone color" music, an evolution of the Romantic "tone poems" of Richard Strauss, Liszt, and Wagner — while more radical artists used electronics to create new forms of music that had never been heard before.

It all came together in the 1970s, when the advent of relatively affordable electronic synthesizers, drum machines, effects processors, and recording equipment fueled an era of rapid discovery, invention and innovation, and the beginning of popular electronic music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we look back at the sound of electronic music in the 1970s, on a program called ELECTRONIC FOSSILS. Music is by DOUG McKECHNIE, MICHAEL GARRISON, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, TANGERINE DREAM, DEUTSCHE WERTARBEIT, LAURIE SPIEGEL, KLAUS SCHULZE, and ROBERT RICH.

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