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PGM 1391 ‘NORTHERN LIGHTS 5’ : feb.15-22

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

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

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

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PGM 1037R ‘THE LONG NIGHT’ : feb. 7-14

We’re at the nadir of winter in the Northern Hemisphere…a time when the yearly journey around our native star seems arbitrary and endless. Battered by storms, challenged by cold, starved for light, we have no choice but to wait…for the return of the sun and the bright promise of spring.

It’s a trial we repeat in miniature each long winter night, as we turn away from the sun into the cosmic darkness. But while we can escape most of the night in sleep, winter…must be endured. It’s a test of fortitude and patience, a confrontation with our own desires for ease and comfort.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a nocturnal winter journey called “THE LONG NIGHT.”  Music is by JEFF GREINKE, ROBERT RICH, A PRODUCE, STEVE ROACH & KELLY DAVID, SEAN WASHBURN, and NUNC STANS & MYSTIFIED.

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PGM 1390 ‘SILO’ : jan.31-feb.7

In 2016, Icelandic film composer ATLI ÖRVARSSON was having a great career — working with industry heavyweights, scoring dozens of movies and TV series, and winning awards. But after more than a decade in Los Angeles, he was moved to return to his small hometown in the north of Iceland, build a film-scoring studio, create a record label for Icelandic artists, and help establish the scoring orchestra “Sinfonia Nord.”

All this has made tiny Iceland a new center for film and television scoring, helping to meet the expanded demands of the video streaming era. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we have a great example: a journey into a post-apocalyptic dystopian future world, based on HUGH HOWEY’s “Wool” trilogy of science fiction novels, and inspired by the APPLE TV Plus Sci-Fi Series “SILO.”

We feature ATLI ÖRVARSSON’s brooding, powerful score from “SILO,” plus related music from HANS ZIMMER’s score for “INCEPTION” — on this transmission of Hearts of Space. 

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PGM 243 ‘SO DARK: a tribute to David Lynch’ — jan. 24-31

If you’re old enough to have been watching network television in 1990, just the first two notes of this music should have sent an involuntary shiver down your spine. It conjures up atavistic, possibly suppressed, memories of the strange, disconcerting world of the late film and television director DAVID LYNCH—creator of the award-winning series “TWIN PEAKS,” who passed away in January, 2025.

It’s a perfect example of the Lynch brand of “Visionary Surrealism,” a mixture of the banal, the beautiful, and the sinister —a juxtaposition of mysterious or menacing sounds and images with mundane, everyday environments. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a tribute to the banal, bizarre, beautiful, and disconcerting world of DAVID LYNCH, on a program called “SO DARK.”

Music is by ANGELO BADALAMENTI, JULEE CRUISE, TOM NEWMAN, JEFF GREINKE, and GABRIEL YARED.  

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PGM 1389 ‘ISOLATION’ : jan.17-24

Last year, the Surgeon General of the United States released a report warning about “an epidemic of loneliness.” What’s being called “an anti-social century of self-imposed solitude” was becoming a social fact, with negative effects on health equivalent to tobacco or obesity.

In 2020, over half of Americans were unmarried, separated, divorced, or widowed. Of those, two thirds had never been married. In 2023, 38 million Americans were living alone—more than 30% of households—and three quarters of all restaurant business…was take-out. For those who did eat in a restaurant, dining alone had increased by 29%.

At the same time, the highly social entertainment business was moving to digital home delivery: video was booming, while theaters and clubs were closing. For those who did venture out, thanks to ear buds, music consumption on mobile phones created a class of “audio-isolated” individuals.

in the wake of these developments came an ambient music sub-genre called “Isolationist Ambient.” It creates a sense of being alone in vast, empty spaces. It’s an experience that has both positive and negative aspects: it can immerse listeners in sublime natural or virtual environments, with powerful psychological and physical benefits. Like meditation, it can lead to increased self-awareness, and respect for the natural environment. It can also deepen feelings of loneliness, depression, and despair.

On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, an ambient winter journey in solitary spaces, on a program called ISOLATION.

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PGM 1205R ‘FROZEN TIME’ : jan.10-17

The serene spaces of contemplative minimalism have attracted some strange bedfellows over the years, including classical, new music, and experimental composers, serious jazz artists, ambient-electronic sound sculptors, and native musicians from the far north. They share a taste for consonance, repetition, slow tempos, electro-acoustic instrumentation, and expanded ambience. 

In these vast, frigid spaces, time seems to slow and even stop. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, timeless soundscapes inspired by the Arctic North, on a program called “FROZEN TIME.”

Music is by CHRISTEL VERAART, JEFF GREINKE, TIGRAN HAMASYAN, JOHN LUTHER ADAMS, MICHAEL JON FINK, SOMEI SATOH, and OLAFUR ARNALDS.

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PGM 1388 ‘WINTERTRONIC 4’ : jan. 3-10

Smooth…chilled…and mysterious: the electronic orchestrations of the late German electronic music pioneer KLAUS SCHULZE — just one of the new styles to emerge from the hyper-creative incubator that was Berlin in the 1960s and 70s.

Electronic synthesizers ultimately fueled dozens of new genres, the most famous being “Kraut Rock.” But the confluence of cosmic electronic soundscapes and the classical music of Europe led to a widely popular genre that came to be known as “spacemusic.”

It was well-suited to the winter months, when listeners could easily make the perceptual leap from the new sound to the frigid vacuum of interstellar space—a natural conjunction that was recognized by the first generation of academic electronic musicians, like German composer KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another interstellar flight on electronic wings, on a program called WINTERTRONIC 4. Music is by KLAUS SCHULZE, MARK DWANE, ANDREW LAHIFF, DREAMSTATE LOGIC, ISOSTATIC, OXIA PALACE, and HOLLAN HOLMES.

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PGM 826 “TO THEE WE SING” : dec. 27-jan.3

The legacy of choral singing is never more cherished than during the holiday season, when it brings warmth and light to the winter darkness by opening the heart and feeding the soul. From the Christian churches and cathedrals of Europe and the U.S., to the Orthodox churches of Russia, central Asia, and the Holy Land, the human family gathers to listen, sing, and worship together.

After more than ten centuries of evolution, some of the finest choral music was written during the last 100 years by a special breed of contemporary composers, who respect and extend the tradition. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another compilation of sublime choral pieces from our longtime guest producer ELLEN HOLMES called “TO THEE WE SING.” Music is by the cream of liturgical composers from Russia, Estonia, Bulgaria and the U.S., including SERGEI RACHMANINOV, ARCHBISHOP IONAFAN, DOBRI CHRISTOV, MORTEN LAURIDSEN, and others.

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PGM 1387 ‘STARLIGHT NORTH 2’ : dec.20-27

This week we honor our pagan ancestors and celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. We journey over the snow-covered mountains, frozen forests, and blue-gray fjords that inspire the music of northern Europe and Scandinavia.

In a land of dark and cold, the focus turns within, and the music of this frigid region warms the heart and nourishes the soul. Classical, jazz, and traditional folk sounds stretch from majestic and powerful, to intimate and ethereal—with brilliant timbres, gorgeous melodies, and rich harmonies.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another winter solstice celebration, on a program called “STARLIGHT NORTH 2.” Music is by ORCHESTRA INDIGO, DEAD CAN DANCE, STEPHAN MICUS, TRINE OPSAHL, ANNBJØRG LIEN, BUKKENE BRUSE, CANTUS, ANNE DUDLEY, HEILUNG, HAGATHORN, SKÁLD, SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI, and ÁINE MINOGUE.

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PGM 1031 ‘GLORIA’ : dec.13-20

The eternally innocent sound of the boy soprano: whether you’re Christian or not, it’s a sound that floats high and pure, far above our worldly cares.

The boy soprano or “treble” voice has been used in Christian religious music for centuries, especially in England. True fact: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones sang for Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey as a boy soprano!

Since Medieval times, some of the Western world’s greatest composers have written music for sacred services. The immersive ambience of great stone churches and cathedrals, the majestic tones of the pipe organ, and the massed voices of the choir and the worship community created the context; from it came a genre of sacred space music, including vocal and instrumental pieces, great liturgical works, and hymns and psalms of sublime beauty. It’s a repertoire we come back to every year during the holiday season.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another offering from our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred space music ELLEN HOLMES, featuring sacred choral and instrumental classics for the holiday season, on a program called “GLORIA.”

Music is by the boy choir LIBERA, MOZART, HANDEL, VIVALDI, CHARPENTIER, PADOVANO, STRIGGIO, PALESTRINA, MONTEVERDI, MOUTON, BENCINI, PÄRT, LAURIDSEN, and HOLBORNE.

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