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PGM 1334 'NILS FRAHM: LONG, SLOW, & DEEP' : jan.13-20

NILS FRAHM emerged out of the third generation of post-electronic German musicians. Trained in classical piano, he moved to Berlin in his mid-20's, where he absorbed the artistic influence and technical orientation of the Berlin school of popular electronic music. He had a talent for memorable melodies, and the flexibility to shine in multiple genres—from solo piano, to electronic ambient, to film music.

With a string of solo piano albums and collaborations to his credit, in the last decade Frahm became an innovative live performer, combining several acoustic and electronic pianos with a battery of electronic instruments and processors into powerful solo performances.

When COVID-19 effectively put a temporary end to live music, Frahm expanded his personal studio and began working on a series of extended contemplative ambient pieces that reflected the atmosphere of solitude and isolation of the pandemic. Free from conventional notions of musical form or pace, Frahm compared them to watching a great waterfall that was both constantly changing and always the same.

What emerged after two years of work was a 3+ hour long triple album of immersive fractal rhythms and extended ambient tone color meditations, mysteriously titled MUSIC FOR ANIMALS. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, our selection of Frahm's elegant, ethereal, transcendent electronic and acoustic ambient from "MUSIC FOR ANIMALS," on a program called "NILS FRAHM: LONG, SLOW, and DEEP."

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PGM 001R 'FIRST FLIGHT' : jan.6-13

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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PGM 1168R 'POLAR FLIGHT 3' : dec. 30-jan. 6

WINTER DESCENDS...a contractive force that drains the color from the landscape, leaving a world of subtle monochromes, softened by chilled blue-gray mist and fog. As the temperature drops, movement slows, challenging every species to adapt and survive, while winter storms bring cutting winds, freezing rain, sleet, and the white fantasy world of snow. 

Winter inspires Ambient musicians to change their tonal palette and create sonic images of cold wind and stormy skies. The sound of the season is darker, denser, colder, slower—with restrained melodies and crystalline accents. It's native territory for musicians from the northern countries of Europe, Iceland, Canada, and kindred spirits in the United States. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey across the Arctic north, on a program called POLAR FLIGHT 3. Music is by BANCO DE GAIA, BRYAN CARRIGAN, BRIDGE TO IMLA, SEETYCA, SIMON LOMAX, ALTUS and PANGAEA PROJEKT.

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PGM 1333 'HOMECOMING' : dec. 23-30

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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PGM 999R 'ANGELICO' : dec. 16-23

This week we begin our suite of winter holiday programs with another deep journey into the sublime world of sacred choral music, from our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES.

There's a lightness and purity in these subtle harmonies that's often described as angelic. Whether they've come down to us from 800 years ago or just yesterday, by doing less, they achieve more. They engage us on a deeper, more internal level, when we simply open ourselves to the sound and listen with the heart.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the ethereal, angelic sound of choral voices, on a program called ANGELICO. Music is by MAURICE DURUFLE, CESAR FRANCK, MICHAEL PRAETORIUS, MORTEN LAURIDSEN, IVER KLEIVE, OLA GJEILO, ALEXANDRE GRETCHANINOFF, ERIC WHITACRE, and DANIEL LENTZ.

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PGM 1332 'WINTERTRONIC 3' : dec.9-16

Chalk it up to the German genius for music and technology, but technical innovations from the late 1960s and early 1970s like the "sequencer" (an early manual method of creating repeating rhythm patterns) have not only remained relevant — they've become an essential part of the language of electronic music. At the same time, the fierce, extended winters of Northern Europe created a context that favored clear, bright tones and vast, subzero atmospheres. It led to what came to be called "kosmische musik" or cosmic music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another wintry journey on electronic waves, on a program called WINTERTRONIC 3. Music is by S1GNS OF L1FE, MICHAEL WHALEN, RICHARD BONE, HOLLAN HOLMES, LOSCIL, KEVIN KELLER, and LIQUID MIND. 

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PGM 1304R 'CANTO ELECTRONICO' : dec. 2-9

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, 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 1331 'CELLO ELEGIES 2" : nov.26-dec.2

Mournful...plaintive...melancholy...somber...sonorous...resonant: the cello is all this and more — a compact, versatile string orchestra in one instrument, with a four-octave range that comes fully alive in the dark days of autumn. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an autumn journey featuring the plangent tones of the cello, on a program called "CELLO ELEGIES 2." Music is by DAVID DARLING, HANS CHRISTIAN, MAYA BEISER, BLACK TAPE for a BLUE GIRL, ERALDO BERNOCCHI & HOSHIKO YAMANE, JESSE AHMANN, MAX RICHTER, and MARCELLO DE FRANCISCI.

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PGM 853R 'INFINITE LOOPS' : nov.18-25

In the early 1970s, English guitarist ROBERT FRIPP (of the seminal progressive rock band KING CRIMSON) began a series of experiments with tape delay echo loops that he came to call "Frippertronics."

Fripp's collaboration with fellow electronic experimentalist BRIAN ENO yielded two influential albums of treated electric guitar and synthesizers. NO PUSSYFOOTING (from 1972) and EVENING STAR (in 1974) defined a new sound: the infinite spatial guitar. Whether endlessly looped or indefinitely sustained, Fripp transformed, expanded and dematerialized the electric guitar by feeding it back on itself — and created one of the foundations of today's ambient soundscapes.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE we borrow a term from computer programming, on a descending journey for fall called INFINITE LOOPS. Music is by HAROLD BUDD & CLIVE WRIGHT, ROBIN GUTHRIE, HAMMOCK, and RICHARD BONE.

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PGM 1330 'DEEP FLUTES' : nov.11-18

With all the attention given to guitars, keyboards, and synthesizers these days, it's easy to overlook the oldest musical instrument on the planet: the flute. With examples made from bird and animal bones going back over 40,000 years, the flute has played a seminal role in the evolution of music on six continents.

For simplicity, ancient flutes can't be beat: a tube, some holes — done!  In Europe, the modern concert flute evolved to play complex classical music, but since the 1960s, a dedicated group of Native, Ambient and New Age artists has embraced older, simpler ethnic flutes from Native American, South American, Asian, and western folk cultures — combining them with reverberant environments and resonant percussion instruments as vehicles for meditation and healing.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the quiet evolution of indigenous aerophones, on a program called DEEP FLUTES. Music is by SHERRY FINZER & WILL CLIPMAN, R.CARLOS NAKAI, ANN LICATER, JAMES MARIENTHAL, VIANNEY LOPEZ, and RAPHAEL GROTEN.

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PGM 1232R 'SHADES and SHADOWS' : nov. 4-11

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, MILES RICHMOND & PETER GRENADER, IAN BODDY, and JUTA TAKAHASHI.

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PGM 1329 'NETHERSONIC' : oct.28-nov.4

Welcome to the astrological house of Scorpio...a time of darkening in the world around us, when Celtic mythology considered the veil between this world and the "world of the spirits" to be at its thinnest. The advent of Scorpio each year brings us the dark ambient genres of gloom, gothic, and dark atmospheres. This music displays a quest for strangeness, a taste for the ominous, and a fascination with darkness, death, and decay that's appropriate for the fall season, and celebrated on All Hallow's Eve.

Solemn sounds, fear, depression, doleful wailing, and mournful processions are the order of the day, but this music also has a mysterious restorative power that comes from the confrontation with challenging emotions. The Greeks called it...catharsis.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a doom-y, gloomy, dark ambient descent for Halloween called NETHERSONIC. Music is by ATRIUM CARCERI, MONOCUBE, HINTERLAND, RAISON D'ETRE, SOUND PHENOMENON, CAUL, FRANK BEISSEL & STEVE ROACH.

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PGM 1328 'SPACEJAZZ 9 : 'RESTRAINED' - oct.21-28

When it comes to jazz, great musicianship is the standard. But there’s a bright line between virtuosity, power, and technical complexity, and the slow, modal, atmospheric lyricism of beloved artists like pianist BILL EVANS and trumpeter MILES DAVIS, on his classic album KIND OF BLUE.

Quiet. Subtle. Spacious.  It's not about how many notes you play, but how beautifully you play them. As one musician says, it's about "loving every note."

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, lyrical, atmospheric European jazz from the German ECM label, on a program called SPACEJAZZ 9: RESTRAINED. Music is by the TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO, the SOKRATIS SINOPOULOS QUARTET, the MATS EILERSEN TRIO, GIOVANNI GUIDI, ELENI KARAINDROU, and DOMINIC MILLER.

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PGM 1298R 'SHADOWLANDS 2' : oct.14-21

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 1327 'WANDERING' : oct. 7-14

One of the key built-in features of music is movement. Fast or slow, steady or changing, ascending or descending in musical space — music invites us to move within it when we listen, while also inspiring us physically to move with it.

When we move in physical space, we normally have a destination, goal, or purpose. But when we explore a new environment, we like to be goal-free, take our time, and savor the experience. We can do this with the virtual environments of ambient music.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the underrated pleasure of unplanned exploration, on a program called WANDERING.

Music is by ROBERT RICH & LUCA FORMENTINI, BJÖRN MEYER, JON DURANT & ROBERT JÜRJENDAL & PETER CHILVERS, SECONDFACE, and EIVIND AARSET.

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PGM 1172R 'THE TRANSCENDENT PIANO' : sept.30-oct.7

With its bell-like high notes, rich bass tones, subtle touch dynamics, and endless chordal, melodic and rhythmic possibilities—the piano is indispensable for many genres of contemporary music. In the history of the national Hearts of Space program, we've done more than 50 shows focused on the piano. The guitar may be the world's most popular instrument, but for range, versatility and personal expression, the piano takes the prize.

When played with sensitivity and imagination, the acoustic piano alone is capable of taking us into rarified spaces. Today in Europe, a new generation of classically trained, technically creative and musically talented Ambient musicians are exploring minimalist trance patterns, combining the piano with traditional chamber instruments, extending it with electronics, and transporting the instrument into new dimensions of contemplative sound experience.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a program of recent discoveries called THE TRANSCENDENT PIANO. Music is by NILS FRAHM, MAX RICHTER, ANGUS MACRAE, DUSTIN O'HALLORAN, DMITRI STÖKL, KAI SCHUMACHER, STEN ERLAND HERMUNDSTAD, and BRUNO SANFILIPPO.

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PGM 1326 'RECESSION 3' : sept.23-30

As the sun sinks below the equator and into the southern hemisphere, what used to be an orderly transition from summer heat to autumn cool is now disrupted by extreme weather events. Seasonal changes have become more unpredictable, and we must learn to navigate the new reality of our intensified climate — droughts, heat waves, mega-fires, monsoons, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, and a new class of superstorms are all on the menu, bringing new challenges to a changing world.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a fond look back on those formerly gentle seasonal transitions, on a late summer/early autumn journey called RECESSION 3. Music is by DAVID HELPLING, ERIK WØLLO, MEG BOWLES, IAN BODDY, and STEVE ROACH.

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PGM 1325 'HANS ZIMMER's SCORE FOR DUNE' : sept. 16-23

Of all the great science fiction of the 20th century, FRANK HERBERT's 1965 novel "DUNE" has been perhaps the most enduring and successful, giving rise to five sequels by Herbert, nine additional novels, and a committed world-wide audience. It was prescient in its visions of future politics, religion, ecology, technology, and the power of women in society.

After two unsuccessful attempts to film the novel by directors ALLEJANDRO JODOROWSKY and DAVID LYNCH, and a Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, in 2017 a new film version was commissioned by Canadian director DENIS VILLENEUVE with music by HANS ZIMMER, which went on to win six Oscars.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we devote the entire program to HANS ZIMMER's magnificent score. Synthesizers, solo vocals and chorus, world-winds and percussion, newly invented instruments, and influences from North Africa and the Middle East, create a powerful organic-electronic world described by Zimmer as "retro-futuristic."

Hans Zimmer's academy award-winning score for DUNE...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1157R 'ENDLESS SUMMER' : sept.9-16

Summers...are famously long and hot, and in the superheated days of late summer, time seems to expand in front of us. And it's not just because it's the season for natural disasters — we're back to school and back to work, packing new activities into our schedules while memories of summer fun still linger in our minds. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, languid guitars, ethereal electronics and subtle rhythms for the season, on a program called ENDLESS SUMMER.

The title comes from a classic 1966 surfing documentary, but it's been repurposed hundreds of times. We'll do the same, from a concept and music research by guest producer DAVID J. EGAN. Music is by DIATONIS, MATTHEW STEWART, LEO ABRAHAMS, BJORN MEYER, TONY GERBER, EIVIND AARSET, HAMMOCK, and BYLA.

Laidback, expansive ambient guitars for the season: ENDLESS SUMMER...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 1223R 'ELECTRONIC DIMENSIONS' : sept. 2-9

The transition from 'electric' to 'electronic' was one of the great technical achievements of the 20th century. Electronic engineering emerged out of the telephone, radio, film and television industries, and military communication and weapon systems during World War II. The earliest devices for creating electronic music actually date from the end of the 19th century. By the 1920s and 30s we had compact, playable electronic instruments like the Russian Theremin, the French Ondes Martenot, and the German Trautonium. 

Development of recording technology led to experimentation with record players and tape recorders to manipulate sound and create new kinds of music. Electronic music expanded exponentially in the 1960s and 70s with the arrival of practical electronic synthesizers, fueling an era of explosive creativity. Today electronic music extends from mainstream dance music to experimental noise, with literally thousands of sub-genres, and an unlimited palette of sounds and creative possibilities. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the infinite tone-worlds of electronic space, on a program called ELECTRONIC DIMENSIONS. 

Music is by FOURTH DIMENSION, BLUETECH, ESKOSTATIC, BETWEEN INTERVAL, SCOTT LAWLOR, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.

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PGM 983R 'SUMMERTRONICA 5' : aug. 26-sept. 2

Does a season have a sound? ANTONIO VIVALDI obviously thought so, and THE FOUR SEASONS remains one of the most popular classical pieces of all times. So did electronic music pioneer WENDY CARLOS, who created SONIC SEASONINGS, the first album of synthesized environmental sounds, all the way back in 1972.

What's the sound of summer for the ambient musicians of today?  Well first, it's warmer: languid, even sultry; it's lighter, more airy. From heat waves to gossamer breezes, cooling ocean sprays to the nighttime cricket chorus, in summer — save the occasional thunderstorm, tornado or hurricane — we inhabit a kinder, gentler soundscape.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we round up a flock of warm weather electrons and fly the blue skies of summer...on a program called SUMMERTRONICA 5. Music is by DAN POUND, GENERAL FUZZ, MARCONI UNION, ISHQ, S7VEN, and BVDUB.

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PGM 1324 'WEST AFRICAN SPIRITS' : aug. 19-26

For the almost 40 years we've been producing Hearts of Space, our mission has been to bring you "Ambient, Space, and Contemplative music from around the world and across the centuries."

We've done it in dozens of countries and musical genres. Yet despite its rich and influential musical culture, we've only managed to create a handful of programs of the music of Africa. And within Africa, the music of West Africa and its signature instrument, the 22-string harp/lute called the kora—stands out for its melodic beauty and charm.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer DAVID J. EGAN, we focus on the gentle joy of West African music and the kora, on a program called 'WEST AFRICAN SPIRITS.' Music is by RODERICK McLEOD & VINOD PRASANNA, AYUB OGADA, SONA JOBARTEH, STEPHAN MICUS, SEBATIERRA, ABLAYE CISSOKO & VOLKER GOETZE, and DEREK GRIPPER.

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PGM 1072R 'HYPNOTRONIC' : aug. 12-19

Back in the late 18th and early 19th century, a German doctor named FRANZ MESMER had a far out theory about energy transference between animate and inanimate objects. He called it "animal magnetism."

A Scottish doctor named JAMES BAIRD developed the idea and called it "nervous sleep" or "neuro-hypnotism," and later just "hypnosis." The word comes from the Greek hypnos for "sleep" and osis "to put to sleep."

These days, thanks to the American Psychological Association, we have a formal definition of hypnosis as "a state of consciousness created by 'hypnotic induction' and characterized by relaxation, focused attention and increased suggestibility, with alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior." Others define it as psychological regression, dissociation, or an altered state of functioning.

However you define it, hypnosis has a lot in common with ambient music, which also creates a relaxed state with focused attention. Whether it causes increased suggestibility and altered perception...well, that's up to you.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, electronic music for mental alteration, on a program called HYPNOTRONIC. Music is by ORCHESTRA SOLITAIRE, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, THIERRY DAVID, HOWARD GIVENS & CRAIG PADILLA, A PRODUCE, PHILLIP WILKERSON, STEVE ROACH, and VIC HENNEGAN.

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PGM 1323 'TRIBAL AMBIENT REVISITED' : aug. 5-12

The timeless sound of prehistoric hand drums, brought to the present with 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 genre was originally termed “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 over, but a core group of electro-acoustic artists with a taste for psychedelic experience and a talent for rhythm, continue to refine the sound and release new albums.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, another report from the creative intersection of tribal rhythms and ambient electronics, on a program called TRIBAL AMBIENT REVISITED. Music is by BYRON METCALF, FRORE & SHANE MORRIS, STEVE ROACH & MICHAEL STEARNS, SERENA GABRIEL, BIFF JOHNSON, and REMANENCE.

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PGM 1322 'PHRYGIAN PHANTOMS' : july 29-aug. 5

In traditional music, a mode is a set of notes or tones that go together to create a distinctive, culturally valued ethos or character.

Modes go back to ancient Greece, and have been redefined over the centuries. In Greece the 5th harmonic minor mode was originally called the Dorian or Aeolian mode, and later the Phrygian mode, inspired by the passionate people of the kingdom of Phrygia in the wild Anatolian mountains of modern day Turkey. It was part of the modal music system of the Medieval Catholic church; and in the folk and classical music of Spain, the Phrygian dominant mode is known as the “Spanish gypsy scale,” because it’s found in Flamenco, and the hypnotic Berber rhythms of North Africa.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we return to the distinctive sound of the Phrygian mode as it echoes down the centuries to the contemporary Spanish-Moorish soundscape, on a program called 'PHRYGIAN PHANTOMS.' Music is by guitarists MILOŠ, OTTMAR LIEBERT, ADAM HURST, BENEDETTI & SVOBODA, JOSÉ LUIS MONTÓN, and the fusion group AL-ANDALUS.  

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