Hearts of Space Promo Podcast: Recent Episodes
Stephen Hill
HEARTS of SPACE is a nationally syndicated ambient - space - contemplative music series started in 1983. We can't legally podcast the entire program (blame the RIAA!) but we offer our weekly 30 second promos to give you a quick sample. You can stream the new shows free all day every Sunday at www.HOS.com.
SUMMER...officially arrives in the Northern Hemisphere the third week in June. Also known as the Summer Solstice, it's the longest day and shortest night of the year. For fans of the ambient guitar, it's an event worth celebrating. The cold and dark of winter is forgotten; the bright promise of spring has come and gone; now, fair skies, gentle breezes, sweet melodies, and the warm harmonies of early summer invite us to melt...into the season of the sun.
Instrumental music for the guitar continues to evolve, and whether the genre is traditional acoustic, 20th century electric, or 21st century electronic, the slow pace and spatial sound images of the ambient guitar bring us new dimensions in atmospheric music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another seasonal journey for ambient guitar, on a program called "SIX STRING SUMMER."
Music is by SOULFOOD & BILLY McLAUGHLIN, TOM CAUFIELD, MIKHAIL MEDVEDEV, ASCHE & SPENCER, STEVE SMITH, CHUCK JOHNSON, ERRANT SPACE, MATT BORGHI, CLIVE WRIGHT, ROBERT FRIPP & BRIAN ENO.
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As spring slowly morphs into summer, the music becomes more energetic and expansive. In the long days and mild nights,the sounds and rhythms of the warm weather cultures call to us.
For ambient musicians, a brighter palette and hotter beats are in order, along with the changing sounds of an environment moving into overdrive.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space...an ambient excursion for the spring/summer transition called "WARM FRONT." Music is by TWILIGHT ARCHIVE, YAGYA, LEO ABRAHAMS & JON HOPKINS, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, CYBERCHUMP, STEVE ROACH, and ERIK WØLLO.
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It’s been almost 50 years since 1978, when the influential English recording artist and producer BRIAN ENO—in a historic bit of cultural appropriation—took the name “ambient” for an emerging genre of atmospheric contemporary music, and started an independent record label to publish it.
The approach had been evolving since the early 20th century in artistic and experimental music circles, including impressionism, avant garde, electronic, psycho-acoustic soundscapes, new age, and minimalism.
If there was a common element in these diverse genres, it was an emphasis on tone, texture, atmosphere, and spatial sound images, over traditional musical theory and structure. The genre was unusually open to influences from slow, quiet music from other cultures and historical eras, where it found hypnotic repetitions, psychoactive fractal patterns, modal drones, and consonant harmony.
In time, modern listeners also came to appreciate the therapeutic power of ambient music to manage stress, enhance concentration, and support meditative and spiritual experience. Today, a new generation of dedicated ambient composers are creating new music of great subtlety and power.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, therapeutic ambient for unpredictable times, on a program called "RESTORATION." Music is by DAVID HELPLING & ERIC "THE" TAYLOR, MICHAEL STEARNS & CHRISTIAN HALTEN, ISHQ, MATTHEW STEWART, ANDREW HEATH, and STEVE ROACH.
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Consider, gentle listener, the chordophone family of musical instruments. It's a large, diverse brood including almost anything with stretched strings: zithers, lyres, harps, lutes, guitars, the violin family, hundreds of ethnic string instruments like the Japanese koto and the African kora, and not least — keyed zithers like the harpsichord and the piano.
Chordophones can be plucked, strummed, bowed, keyed, or struck. Looking back in time, zithers, lyres and harps were the foundational instruments of the chordophone family. They were used in antiquity to accompany recitations and promote healing.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the soft strings of the harp and zither to a place close to silence, on a program called 'CHORDOPHONICS.' Music is by PETER STERLING, HARP 46, LYSA LYNNE, DA WO's, HAROLD BUDD, CYMBER LILY QUINN, KLAUS WIESE, and LARAAJI.
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At its core, Ambient is a sensibility — a way of perceiving or sensing the world around us. As a sensibility, it gives us a heightened awareness of our physical and cultural surroundings; as a contemporary music genre, the name may be new, but the music has old, even ancient roots, arising from the discovery that slow tempos, repeated patterns, hypnotic rhythms, and resonant enclosures can alter our sense of time, and transform our experience of space.
The 20th century saw the invention of electronic music, along with technical advances in communication, travel, sound recording, and music distribution—all of which sparked unprecedented exposure to non-western folk, classical, and tribal music from indigenous cultures around the world. In 1987, the European and North American music industry—determined to avoid the confusion and criticism that accompanied the choice of "New Age" for an earlier emerging genre—opted for simplicity and called the entire non-western traditional category "World Music."
In time the World Music genre expanded to include ethnic fusions, crossovers, and hybrids, and the ethereal sounds of Tribal Electronic and World Ambient. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we journey over the high desert mesas, wind-blown dunes, and endless plains of the Ethno-Ambient soundscape, on a program called "AMBIENT TRAVELER 4."
Music is by LAYNE REDMOND & TOMMY BRUNGES, BYRON METCALF & ARI URBAN, SUZANNE TENG & GILBERT LEVY, MARLA LEIGH, STEPHAN MICUS, and ANOUSHKA SHANKAR.
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SPRING CREEPS IN with delicate leaves and fragrant flowers. The winds sweep through, the rains wash away the accumulated debris of winter, and we bathe in new light and energy. It's a time for music that flows with grace and melody—a confirmation of the release we feel.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the music is fresh and the harmonies are lush...on a program called 'FLOWING INTO SPRING'. Music is by SECRET GARDEN, ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER, NANCY RUMBEL, BILL DOUGLAS, SAVINA YANNATOU & PRIMAVERA EN SALONICO, LEE JOHNSON, and SANCTUARY.
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Ahhhh, spring at last. Or is it? Our most anticipated season has a habit of arriving in fits and starts: a few days of temperate glory...and then a chilled rerun of late winter; a sweet day of sunshine and birdsong...and then, a nasty day of cold rain and hail. It breeds a kind of disorientation you feel in your body...and makes you question where you are.
When ambient musicians focus on spring, they're thinking of brighter timbres, more energetic rhythms, and warmer harmonies. Will the weather take the hint? It's a toss-up, but the psychological effect, at least, can be comforting.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space...ambient electronics to summon and celebrate spring, on a program called WARMING TREND. Music by ERIK WØLLO, RUDY ADRIAN, STEVE ROACH, ANDREW LAHIFF, AMONGST MYSELVES, TOM EATON, and PATRICK O'HEARN.
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THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING is, as they say about the future, "unequally distributed." While our friends in the northern states and upper elevations are enjoying a last round of snow, the seasonal transition has been underway here in California for over two months.
Whatever your weather, after the grey skies and dark drones of winter, we're due for some spring spacemusic: light, airy, energetic, ready to venture out and enjoy the world around us. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of sparkling Ambient electronics for spring, on a program called 'VERNAL TRANSIT.'
Music is by ASCENDENT, CONNECT.OHM, STATE AZUR, RAY SAMMARTANO, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, and ISHQ.
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THE MUSIC OF EASTER—with its traditional themes of death and rebirth—touches the extremes of the emotional spectrum, from deepest anguish to radiant joy.
Over the past 40 years, Hearts of Space has often celebrated this special holiday with the help of our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music, ELLEN HOLMES. This year, once again, Ellen brings us a collection of sublime choral and instrumental music for Easter, on a program she calls “OF SOUND AND SPIRIT.”
“Traditionally,” she says, “on Easter Sunday and during the week before Easter—concerts of majestic music are performed all over the world…celebrating the miracle…of life’s eternal renewal. This special Easter program follows that tradition, featuring exceptionally beautiful pieces and performances from ancient to contemporary.”
With music by FRANZ SCHUBERT, HENRIK ØDEGAARD, JORDI SAVALL, J.S. BACH, SIGVALDI KALDALÓNS, GUSTAVE MAHLER, MAX RICHTER, CHARLES GOUNOD, and others.
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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.
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CONFESSION...it's simple in theory: to tell the truth. In practice? It's more complicated.
Confession plays a critical role in the justice system, in religion, in therapeutic and personal relationships. And at a time when the very idea of objective facts and truth is being challenged, confession is more important than ever.
A true confession is a revelation — a release of hidden knowledge. And it's often accompanied by powerful, even cathartic, emotions. No wonder confessional songs and music are found in some of the oldest cultures on earth.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space...the quiet sound of emotional truth, on a program called CONFESSIONS. Music is by ADAM HURST, ELINA DUNI, MIRABAI CEIBA, SAVINA YANNATOU, BADI ASSAD, JOSÉ LUIS MONTÓN, ESTÁS TONNÉ, ANDRÉ GERAISSATI, and AMBERFERN.
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One of the most durable program concepts in the now 41 years of Hearts of Space is the experience of virtual space travel on electronic waves. And like our "Space Guitars" series—now up to lucky number 13—we've been working on another series for electronic touring called "ELECTRON TRAVELER." This week, we arrive at number seven.
Whether flying effortlessly across vast cosmic spaces on the kinetic rhythms of electronic sequencers and the fractal patterns of loop echoes, or floating peacefully in star-crossed fields of cosmic gas and dust, we celebrate the awe and wonder of the celestial spectacle.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's another cosmic-electronic journey, on a program called ELECTRON TRAVELER 7. Music is by ASCENDANT, TIME BEING, JAJA, JUTA TAKAHASHI, JIM OTTOWAY, and DREAMSTATE LOGIC.
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It's only three short months from the summer solstice to the autumn equinox, and we make the most of them: travel, vacation, backyard parties, fun at the beach or the lake, and sports and water activities of every description. All that plus balmy nights, and the hypnotic rhythm of the crickets to lull us to sleep. Summer can be a magical respite in our complicated lives, but when mid-September comes, we know it's drawing to a close.
Instrumental music can express our complex feelings about the end of summer—good memories, a sense of nostalgia, a tinge of melancholy, and quiet acceptance. Acoustic instruments like piano, guitar and cello are perfect for the job, especially when enhanced by electronics. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, music for the summer/fall transition, on a program called SUMMER'S END. Music is by HELEN JANE LONG, JEFF PEARCE, KATHRYN KAYE, ANGELO RABAN, and the late DAVID DARLING.
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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.
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It's been over 50 years since electronic music emerged from academic laboratories and embarked on the road to mainstream popularity. One of the most influential early artists was Greek musician EVANGELOS PAPATHANASSIOU—mercifully shortened to VANGELIS—who began as the keyboard player of the biggest rock band ever in Greece (APHRODITE'S CHILD), then quit and moved to London, where he began scoring films and documentaries.
While the Germans focused on technology, Vangelis adapted the Romantic Classical genre to electronic keyboards, created lush, melodic, emotionally expressive music, and became an A-list film composer. It's a style that still reverberates today.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, inspired by a classic Vangelis album celebrating the world's oceans, a deep blue journey called OCEANIC REALMS 2. Music is by VANGELIS, THE AMNIS INITIATIVE, APOCLIPTIC & ROMERIUM, LOSCIL, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, RUDY ADRIAN, and LIQUID MIND.
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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.
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SUMMER...inspires an even more ethereal brand of Ambient electronica. Whether flying or floating on the balmy breezes, the sounds are airy and the movement is light and buoyant. The words we use to describe the moods it creates are superlative: joyous, blissful, ecstatic, delightful — even heavenly. And when it comes to heaven, for some reason we prefer the seventh.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an ambient-electronic-summer-journey called CLOUD NINE. Yes, we also number the clouds.
Music is by CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, FANGER & SCHONWALDER, JOHN LYELL, ARIEL KALMA, and DAVE LUXTON.
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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.
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BELIEVE IT OR NOT, the combination of ambient nature sounds and electronic music was actually an innovation in the 1970s. And you may be surprised that the idea had a history in European classical music, especially in England and France.
In England, it was the so-called "pastoral" composers like ARNOLD BAX and RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, who created orchestral images of nature. In France, it was the Impressionists, from CLAUDE DEBUSSY to OLIVIER MESSIAEN. They didn't have recordings, so they created new instruments and playing techniques to imitate natural sounds like wind and birdsongs.
By the mid-20th century, we could record the sounds of nature, edit them and play them back at will. In the 1950s, avant-garde composers like JOHN CAGE were promoting an awareness of ambient sound as equal to music. Music...was how you listened. Incorporating nature sounds into music was the next step; beside, film soundtracks had been doing it for years.
The psychology is foundational: humans evolved listening to natural sounds, and they send a message we respond to instinctively. For example, birdsong on a gentle summer morning is delightful and calming. Blend in some subtle synthesizers, season with gourmet reverberation and you have what two young Canadians named MYCHAEL DANNA and TIM CLÉMENT called "environmental electronic music."
It's an idea that was embraced by New Age musicians and in time became a bit of a cliché. But it led to an electronic genre of extended tone-color journeys in virtual space, which is still alive and well. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the fluid, airy sound of summer spacemusic, on a program called SUMMERTONES 3.
Music is by MEG BOWLES, DANNA & CLÉMENT, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, ALTUS, and STELLIA.
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THE ARRIVAL OF PRACTICAL ELECTRONIC SYNTHESIZERS in the late 1960s and early 1970s caused a sensation around the world, but nowhere more than Germany. Postwar German artists were restless, intent on leaving behind all forms of traditional German music, as well as the Rhythm & Blues roots and song structure of popular Anglo-American rock.
An innocent feature of early modular synthesizers called a “step sequencer” provided a tool that led to the development of an original style called “Kosmische Musik” or "Cosmic Music" in Germany, and—more playfully—“KrautRock.” The step sequencer made it easy to create hypnotic rhythm loops with up to 32 notes or steps, set a tempo, and mix them over flowing electronic drones. The effect was to “float” the listener through endless terrestrial or cosmic space: it was addictive.
Seminal groups and individuals like CAN, KLAUS SCHULZE, TANGERINE DREAM, KRAFTWERK, CLUSTER, ASH RA TEMPEL, HARMONIA and others, created an enduring style that has influenced genres from Minimalism, Ambient and Electronic Dance Music, to New Age and Techno. Today we call it the "Berlin School."
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another timeless flight on electronic rhythms, on a program called SEQUENCER AIRLINES. Music is by ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, STATE AZURE, STEVE HAUSCHILDT, STARTERRA, MARTIN STURTZER, SYNTH REPLICANTS, STRAY THEORIES, NILS FRAHM, and EDGAR FROESE.
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HAWAII, ladies and gentlemen: our 50th state, a subtropical archipelago of 137 volcanic islands arising from the Pacific Ocean, 2000 miles southwest of the U.S. mainland. Unique in many ways, it's a rich multi-ethnic melting pot of indigenous Hawaiian, Polynesian, East and Southeast Asian, and North American cultures.
All this diversity gives Hawaiian music a sweetness and charm that led to popularity for the steel guitar and the ukulele in the early 20th century, and a revival of the so-called "slack key" or re-tuned finger-style guitar in the 1970s. The languid pace and tropical ambience of the music echoes the astonishing beauty of the natural setting. One visit to the Garden Island of Kauai turns a word like "paradise" from hyperbole...to description.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the languid music and lush subtropical ambience of Hawaii, on a program called SLACK KEY PARADISE. Music is by BRUCE KAPHAN & JAKE SHIMABUKURO, BOB BROZMAN & LEDWARD KAAPANA, KEOLA BEAMER & R.CARLOS NAKAI, TAIMANE, KAWIKA KAHIAPO, and WAYNE POWELL.
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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.
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Flying and floating: two weightless activities we associate with the airy skies and watery delights of summer. Of course, spacemusic allows you to fly and float all year 'round, but somehow it's even more enjoyable in the warm weather months.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we ride the air currents and float on blissful waves, on a program of ambient electronics for summer called THERMALS. Music is by MARCONI UNION, ASHERA, GULAN, STU JENKS, and A PRODUCE.
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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.
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Underlying the political and religious differences that have provoked centuries of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is the landscape—an austere region of desert and mountains, transected by great rivers: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates. This environment, along with centuries of cultural exchange, accounts for a rough musical unity across countries and ethnicities. Thus the music of Turkey, Israel and Palestine has similarities with the Arabic and Berber music of North Africa, and the Persian traditions of Iran.
Today, progressive artists working within these traditions have created a Virtual Middle East, a cultural blend that effectively ignores ethnic, religious and political differences, and brings us an image of what a peaceful future in the region might sound like.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, soulful sounds from the Virtual Middle East, on a program called DESERT SOUL. Music is by MICHEL BANABILA, DHAFER YOUSSEF, MARJAN VAHDAT, NIYAZ, ARCHETRIBE, and ANOUAR BRAHEM.
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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.
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IT'S PROBABLY A REACTION to our increasingly safe, predictable, scheduled lives, but a longing for the ecstatic, the primitive, and the archaic has been sweeping through Western music for almost a hundred years.
IGOR STRAVINSKY's "Rite of Spring" — a fertility ritual — with its intense dissonances and pagan polyrhythms, took an opening shot across the bow of civilized European art in 1913. Its premiere, famously, caused a riot.
From the polite 19th century Romantic fascination with the "noble savage," through R&B and the rock 'n' roll stance of "Elvis the Pelvis," to the trancey ethnic rhythms of today's techno-tribal dance and ambient music — we continue to seek the energy and the release...of the ecstatic.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another techno-triba-delic journey called SUMMERTRONICA 4. Music is by DREAM JUNGLE, TUU, JORGE REYES & PIET JAN BLAUW, TONY GERBER, RESONANT DRIFT, DAN POUND, and KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE.
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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.
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It’s been almost seventy years since the arrival of Indian classical music in Europe and the United States. Starting in 1956, English violinist YEHUDI MENUHIN’s interest in Indian music led to collaborations and concert tours with two of the then hottest young musicians in India—sitar master RAVI SHANKAR and sarod master ALI AKBAR KHAN. It was the beginning of a period of cross-fertilization of Indian and Western classical music. And in the 1960’s, the famous adoption of the Indian sitar by GEORGE HARRISON of THE BEATLES brought awareness of Indian music to the mainstream.
Today, recordings, films, videos, and digital networks have led to a broadening of cultural communication, where influence and interaction occur across many genres simultaneously. Western musicians study Indian microtonal scales, play Indian instruments, and create new hybrid styles—while Indian musicians study western tempered scales, harmony, and orchestration, play electronic instruments, and extend the traditions of Indian music to an international audience.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, contemporary, traditional, and sacred sounds of India, on a program called INDIA NAVIGATION 2.
Music is by sitarists JASDEEP SINGH DEGUN, ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, and NILADRI KUMAR, bansuri flutists MARK SEELIG and VIRGINIA NICOLI, sarod and santur by CHINMAYA DUNSTER, and producer CRAIG PRUESS and the great devotional singer ANURADHA PAUDWAL.
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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.
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The solo piano: a sound that's been evolving for over 300 years. It's perfectly happy all by itself, but it also plays exceptionally well with others. Flexible by design, the piano has been a mainstay in classical music and jazz, and a key element in traditional and popular music.
With the arrival of ambient, minimal and new age music in the 1970s, the piano was expanded and dematerialized through studio magic, and combined with ambient and electronic textures to create spatial sound images. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the acoustic piano meets ambient atmospheres, on a program called CONFLATION.
Music is by JON HOPKINS, TALE OF US, BEN LUKAS BOYSEN, ROBERT RICH & MARKUS REUTER, HAROLD BUDD & CLIVE WRIGHT, CHRIS WALLA, and CHRISTOPHER WILLITS & RYUICHI SAKAMOTO.
NOTE: If you're thinking of buying one the new electronic/digital pianos, here's an excellent guide by Rob Beck.
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"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.
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PYTHAGORAS was the ancient Greek philosopher who taught that the cosmos is constructed of spheres, and that air (or a transparent mist called "aether") was the "arche" or substratum of everything — thus the word archetype. In 19th century Victorian science, the "luminiferous ether" was a medium for the propagation of light. In the early 20th century, the Theosophists and Rosicrucians theorized an "etheric plane" — a nonmaterial level of reality above the physical plane.
When applied to music, ethereal means subtle, airy and light — immaterial and weightless. It's a word often applied to electronic music, where the sounds are not produced by physical instruments and have an abstract, immaterial quality.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we push off from the bright spaces and watery sounds of spring, journey into rarified realms of light and space, and return to verdant images of spring — on a program called ETHEREA. Music is by ISHQ, KUUTANA, MOTIONFIELD, IASOS, JEFFREY KOEPPER, and AMONGST MYSELVES.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Ahhh, the advent of spring. It arrives in fits and starts... a few warm days punctuated by brisk winds and unpredictable storms. In March, we pass the spring equinox and have a bright new season. The trees bud and blossom, and the natural world stirs and awakes. After the constriction and enclosure of winter, it's a time to stretch, breathe deep, and expand.
The Ambient soundscapes of the season are brighter, bolder, larger, with a sense of possibility, even hope. The long winter is past, the joy of spring and the blissful days of summer are at hand.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the vernal soundscape, on a program called EXPANSION. Music is by DAVID HELPLING & JON JENKINS, PATRICK O'HEARN, JOHN LYELL, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, PHILLIP WILKERSON, HAR, and HAROLD BUDD.
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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.
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The heavenly spectacle is never more brilliant than during the cold winter months. On those glorious crystal clear nights, the chilled fog, freezing rain and snow is forgotten, and we look out to the stars and look back into time itself. It's a vision that can truly be said to have a timeless fascination: if not for its beauty, then for its mystery.
The starry night is the subject of a powerful song by DON McLEAN, which is not about stars and planets at all, but the life — and death — of Vincent Van Gogh:
They could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, acoustic and electronic music inspired by the night sky and the quiet melancholy of the winter atmosphere, on a program called STARRY NIGHT. Music is by MURIEL ANDERSON & JOHN DOAN, CAROL TATUM, CECILIA CHAILLY, JEFF GREINKE, and TIM STORY.
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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.
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If ever there was a part of everyday life that almost everyone hates, it's waiting.
It's a shame because waiting is unavoidable, like death and taxes — and just about as popular.
Waiting in line...is barely tolerated. God help the person who tries to cut in.
Waiting while driving is even worse, breeding dangerous, irrational behavior.
We have a name for that: road rage.
Waiting causes impatience, anger, and stress. We have drugs for that.
We have special rooms for waiting. They're rarely happy places.
In short, waiting is almost always considered a waste of time. A bad thing.
But it doesn't have to be that way. If you have a smart phone, you've already discovered the joys of "continuous episodic computing." It makes waiting productive. Just please...not while you're driving.
With a change in attitude, waiting becomes an opportunity for exploration, a time for discovery. A time to read, play, watch or listen, connect with friends, write. Or simply a quiet space to catch up with yourself. A good thing.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of ambient electronics for exploration and discovery, on a program called (wait for it)........WAITING.
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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 ]
THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE THE STILLNESS of a frigid winter night. Sensible humans retreat to their heated homes and warm beds, while the normal hyperactivity of the natural world is reduced to almost nothing by cold and dark. Even busy nocturnal creatures and insects take some time off, while flowing water turns to silent ice.
It's an environment that finds expression in a rarified genre of electronic music, which runs the gamut from cool, to chilled, to frozen. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, Ambient electronic music for quiet winter nights, on a program called NORTHSCAPES.
Music is by SOUNDS & SILENCE, SIMON LOMAX, CONNECT.OHM, MEG BOWLES, STEVE ROACH, MARK BANNING, JAJA, and BLISS.
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The music of the high Andes plateau—the "altiplano"—comes from the western edge of South America, an area that extends a thousand miles from southern Ecuador through Peru and Bolivia, to northern Chile. In the brilliant mountain air, the sounds of simple flutes like the quena, the signature panpipe called the siku, skin drums like the bombo, and stringed instruments like the guitar and charango—take on an uncanny appeal. It is famously a land of great beauty and hard contrasts, and the music may as easily be joyful as solemn, mystic, and sad. On this edition of Hearts of Space, a program devoted to the popular "pan-Andean" music of the region, called ALTIPLANO. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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.
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SUMMER brings us one of the greatest free shows on earth. In fair weather, rising water vapor freezes into microcrystals of ice, and we see a vast, constantly changing panorama of clouds, floating and flying overhead. When summer storms arrive, the sky grows dark with the drama of thunder and lightning — nature's original multimedia show.
Clouds come in four families: high, middle, low, and vertical — with official Latin names like cirrus, cumulus and stratus. Satellites now give us the big picture of cloud patterns around the planet and how they affect the weather; there are even clouds on other planets, and interstellar clouds in outer space. It's no wonder that ambient musicians find clouds a major inspiration.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a high altitude summer electronic journey called CLOUDSCAPES. Music is by DIGITONAL, RUBEN GARCIA, FORREST FANG, ROBERT RICH, TERRA AMBIENT, BRUNO SANFILIPPO, and DARSHAN AMBIENT.
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In these now hotter summer nights, an ambient music fan may crave a bit more rhythm in their chilled sonic cocktail, and for that we have Downtempo—an electronic sub-genre characterized by an atmospheric sound and slower beats than typical electronic dance music. Legend traces the origin of Downtempo to the English city of Bristol in the late 1980’s and the emergence of “trip-hop”—a psychedelic fusion of hip-hop and electronics by popular artists like PORTISHEAD and MASSIVE ATTACK. By the early 1990’s, dropping the vocals and adding rhythmic influences from dub reggae gave rise to a melodic, instrumental chill-room genre that came to be known as Downtempo Electronica, or just Downtempo. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a nocturnal summer journey called DOWNTEMPO NIGHTS. Music is by PARALLAX-5, ONE ARC DEGREE, LAUGE, ASC, CHRISTOPHER WILLITS, MARCONI UNION, JOHAN AGEBJÖRN, and CONNECT.OHM. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
The drone...the modal scale...the sinuous, ornamented melodic line. Even without a sitar or a tabla, you know you're enveloped in one of the new Indian-influenced strains of ambient music. Hundreds of years ago, while Western music turned right at polyphony, harmony, and the equal-tempered scale, Indian classical music continued to develop the old modal system of scales and natural intervals, in a vocal-centered, monophonic style. Where we created chords and counterpoint, monumental symphonies, hymns and songs, Indian music continued to evolve the melodic sophistication of raga, the rhythmic complexity of tala, and the patient pursuit of mood and depth. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the sublime world of Indian ambient and devotional music, on a program called INDIA EVOLUTION. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
The Techno-Tribal genre of electro-acoustic ambient emerged in 1988, the fruit of a remarkable act of musical anthropology by American electronic musician STEVE ROACH, who journeyed from Los Angeles to the Australian outback to collaborate with native aboriginal musicians and absorb their mythology of The Dreamtime. The result was a revolutionary and still influential album: DREAMTIME RETURN. Writing about its descendants in 1993, I said: "The natives are drumming tonight on the cyber-tribal frontier. It's a worldwide movement; composers on every continent/ exploring the boundaries of world music as it evolves into our techno-tronic culture. It's a deliberate collision—between the vital spirit of the ancient tribal world, and the rational logic of the electronic age." Three decades later, the renamed Tribal-Ambient genre continues to refine the sound, while maintaining the spirit of the original innovation.On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey through space and time, tribal energy and digital technology, on a program called ANCESTRAL ECHOES. Music is by BYRON METCALF & SHANE MORRIS, FRORE, ALIAS ZONE, ROBERT RICH, RESONANT DRIFT, and NUMINA. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Guest Host STEVIE RAY HILL: Well, spacefans, we started out doing a summer acoustic show, but it morphed into a western-style slide guitar and pedal steel show, and then into a "western landscape" show. Think canyons. But wait, it wasn't done: it took a head fake toward the Native American flute, but on the way it shape-shifted into something more ethereal: call it "pedal steel atmospherica." Whatever. Time for a title to tie it together. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, it's a sultry journey in western spaces called SUSTAINABLE WAVES. Actually, we borrowed the title from SUSTAINABLEWAVES.COM of Austin, Texas. These dudes don't just abide...they sustain. Music's by DANIEL LANOIS, BLUE STAR, JAPANCAKES, BUCKETHEAD, MARJORIE DE MUYNCK, and PATRICK O'HEARN. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
THE MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE EAST includes the Arabic-speaking countries of the Arabian peninsula and North Africa, Persian music from Iran, Jewish music from Israel, plus Armenian, Kurdish, Azeri, Cypriot, Turkish, traditional Assyrian, and Coptic Christian ritual music. It's a complex mixture of history and tradition, innocence and wisdom, longing and heartache, passion and desire. With its quarter note scales, propulsive rhythms, common instruments and melismatic vocals, Middle Eastern music is distinctive and widely appreciated. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey in the inner landscapes of the Middle East, on a program called MINARETS OF THE SOUL 2. Music is by OPIUM MOON, ZIKR PROJECT, RAFAEL KRUX, ANOUAR BRAHEM, KAYHAN KALHOR, ELIYAHU SILLS, NAIRUZ, and DHAFER YOUSSEF. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
SUMMER...despite all the great new things we have to worry about these days, good old sunshine and heat still inspire our bodies to move, explore, and expand, while our minds open up to new sounds. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we mix up a refreshing cocktail of summer electronica, world rhythms, cool horns and trancey vocals, on a program called SUMMERTRONICA 3. Music is by LUCID, JON HASSELL, PAUL HASLINGER, AL GROMER KHAN, MICHAEL BROOK & DJIVAN GASPARYAN, STILL LIFE, LOTUS, and ISHWISH. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
If you ask KYLA DAWN who she is, she’ll say a yoga instructor, dancer, and transformational guide. That sounds like someone from Northern California, doesn’t it? If you ask me, I’ll say she’s also a talented music curator with perfect taste in the latest ambient, contemplative and therapeutic music for her classes, where she focuses on what she calls “the inward journey experience.” And since the inward journey experience is exactly what we’ve been doing for over 40 years on the radio and now online, it makes sense that Kyla is our guest producer for this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE called…wait for it…KYLA DAWN. Music is by TIM SCHEUFERT+SHWIN, LIAM THOMAS, KUMEA SOUND, CALM WHALE, EIRLYS, ESSIE JAIN, JANE WINTHER+RAMAN MAHARJAN, ELIJAH RAY, JACK DT, and SEA OLEENA. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
The musical panorama connecting the electronic rhythms of our hyperactive culture to the nourishing waves of contemplative space...is long, but always worth the journey. Along the way, the slowing tempo reveals new perspectives at every vista. And at the destination, subtle worlds of infinite dimension and unpredictable insight await. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we flow with the electronic rhythms and sonic currents, on a journey to the threshold of silence called DYNAMIC STILLNESS. Music is by ATOMIC SKUNK, ERIK WØLLO, FRANK VAN BOGAERT, CRAIG PADILLA + ZERO OHMS & SKIP MURPHY, and STEVE ROACH. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It's been over 50 years since electronic music emerged from academic laboratories and embarked on the road to mainstream popularity. One of the most influential early artists was Greek musician EVANGELOS PAPATHANASSIOU—mercifully shortened to VANGELIS—who began as the keyboard player of the biggest rock band ever in Greece (APHRODITE'S CHILD), then quit and moved to London, where he began scoring films and documentaries. While the Germans focused on technology, Vangelis adapted the Romantic Classical genre to electronic keyboards, created lush, melodic, emotionally expressive music, and became an A-list film composer. It's a style that still reverberates today. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, inspired by a classic Vangelis album celebrating the world's oceans, a deep blue journey called OCEANIC REALMS 2. Music is by VANGELIS, THE AMNIS INITIATIVE, APOCLIPTIC & ROMERIUM, LOSCIL, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, RUDY ADRIAN, and LIQUID MIND. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
In retrospect, it was inevitable. When high quality portable tape recorders became available after World War II, ethnomusicologists took them into the field to document the living folk music traditions of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and beyond. Then came the 12" LP record in 1948, and these recordings began to circulate around the world, as specialty labels like the Nonesuch Explorer Series inspired an era of cross-cultural influences and collaborations. Ethnic artists traveled west to perform and record, while western musicians traveled far and wide to engage with these genres. Ambient and electronic artists who created music for virtual travel were highly receptive to these influences, and in time they evolved the sophisticated World/Ambient styles we have today. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we return to the place where world music meets ambient, on a program called AMBIENT TRAVELER 3. Music is by ROBERT RICH, FORREST FANG, AL GROMER KHAN, LOREN NERELL & MARK SEELIG, and STEPHAN MICUS. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Consider the guitar, spacefans. it's arguably our most ubiquitous instrument. These days, it comes in many varieties: acoustic and electric, folk and classical, nylon and steel string, slide and electronic—to name a few. And when it comes to creating ambient music, the kind of guitar matters quite a bit. Acoustic guitar tends toward classic tunings and slow tempos, with conservative use of effects; electric guitar is almost the opposite, with aggressive use of effects, feedback, and modifiers. And though the results vary widely, it's still recognizable as a guitar. But with the electronic guitar, you might never know the sound came from a guitar at all—the instrument has been redefined, dematerialized, and effectively disappeared. The guitar becomes a playable "user interface"—a familiar way to control synthesizers and other electronics. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the evolving world of the ambient guitar, on a program called TRANSLUCENT GUITARS. Music is by TOM CAUFIELD, COLIN EDWIN & JON DURANT, CRAIG PADILLA & MARVIN ALLEN, JOHN GREGORIUS, DARSHAN AMBIENT, ROBIN GUTHRIE, HAMMOCK, CARL WEINGARTEN, JUHA-MATTI RAUTIAINEN, JEFF PEARCE, and DELAY TACTICS. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
These days electronic waveforms bubble up from every corner of the globe like some kind of benign gas. Wherever they come from, they often share the qualities of flying...or floating. Flying music is rhythm-powered and moves through space, heading for worlds beyond; floating music is goal-free—ethereal, static, and timeless. On this encore transmission of Hearts of Space, another electronic journey in our flying and floating series called FLYING and FLOATING 2. Music is by GREY AREA, PAN ELECTRIC, SNAKESTYLE, COLOURFORM, EMANUELE ERRANTE, CYBERCHUMP, and TETSU INOUE. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It’s been almost seventy years since the arrival of Indian classical music in Europe and the United States. Starting in 1956, English violinist YEHUDI MENUHIN’s interest in Indian music led to collaborations and concert tours with two of the then hottest young musicians in India—sitar master RAVI SHANKAR and sarod master ALI AKBAR KHAN. It was the beginning of a period of cross-fertilization of Indian and Western classical music. And in the 1960’s, the famous adoption of the Indian sitar by GEORGE HARRISON of THE BEATLES brought awareness of Indian music to the mainstream.
Today, recordings, films, videos, and digital networks have led to a broadening of cultural communication, where influence and interaction occur across many genres simultaneously. Western musicians study Indian microtonal scales, play Indian instruments, and create new hybrid styles—while Indian musicians study western tempered scales, harmony, and orchestration, play electronic instruments, and extend the traditions of Indian music to an international audience.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, contemporary, traditional, and sacred sounds of India, on a program called INDIA NAVIGATION 2.
Music is by sitarists JASDEEP SINGH DEGUN, ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, and NILADRI KUMAR, bansuri flutists MARK SEELIG and VIRGINIA NICOLI, sarod and santur by CHINMAYA DUNSTER, and producer CRAIG PRUESS and the great devotional singer ANURADHA PAUDWAL.
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In the fair days of late spring, electronic winds blow warm and steady, while sequencers spin creative rhythms, propelling us into the active days and balmy nights of summer. DJs prepare their sets for the summer festivals, while ambient composers create expansive soundscapes for virtual travel. Attention Spacefans: it's party time.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of technotronic rhythms and ambient atmospheres, on a program called HYPERTRONIC. Music is by S1GNS OF L1FE, MARC HARTMAN, MEES DIERDORP, MARTIN NONSTATIC, ASC, CRYSTAL MOON, LEMONGRASS, ISHQ, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.
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For thousands of years, music has been used for therapy and healing. From the ancient lyre, the harp, and other stringed instruments, to the resonant percussion sounds of bells, bowls, gongs and cymbals, it’s long been known that music has the potential to heal both the physical body, and the psyche.
So it should be no surprise that from the earliest days of New Age music, some artists made claims for the therapeutic, stress-reducing, or healing qualities of their music. Here, language matters: therapeutic and stress-reducing express both the intention of the artist and the function of the music; healing is a much larger claim, more subjective, and much harder to prove.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE—we explore these stress-reducing sounds, and on a program we’ll call (conservatively...) THERAPEUTIC MUSIC. We have selections by English musician ESSIE JAIN, therapeutic music pioneer STEVEN HALPERN, MOSHI MOSHI DESU, MAUREEN-JI & UNIVERSAL SYMPHONIES, Norwegian musician EIRLYS, the Los Angeles duo BIOMUSIQUE, and crystal bowls by TRYSHE DHEVNEY.
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From humble beginnings as cheap electronic toys in the 1970s, video games have evolved into a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry, second only to television, and bigger than global sports, movies, radio, live and recorded music, audiobooks and podcasting…combined.
Today, video games can be comparable in technical and artistic quality to feature films. Over five decades, the technology developed to support high resolution video and audio, and video game music has become increasingly sophisticated.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE based on awesomely comprehensive music research by guest producers JOHN WEDGEWORTH and HUGUES of the NERD NOISE RADIO video game music podcast—ambient, electronic, orchestral and environmental music from video games, on a program called GAME SCORES 2.
We have music from the soundtracks of ECCO: THE TIDES OF TIME / FINAL FANTASY TEN / 3D MUSEUM / THE LAST STORY / FORECAST CHANNEL / SAMAROST 2 / ZWEI 2 / TWO DOTS / MYST 3: EXILE / OUT OF THIS WORLD / SUBNAUTICA 2: BELOW ZERO / STRAY /NO MAN’S SKY / CONTRADICTION / and MINECRAFT.
It’s another report on the fantastic immersive worlds of video games: GAME SCORES 2...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.
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The contemplative music of China and Japan comes from their classical traditions. In both countries, unique string and wind instruments evolved, along with virtuoso playing techniques. Centuries of patronage by the imperial court produced a classical repertoire.
Today, traditional artists continue to perform the classics and create new pieces, while a new generation of multi-cultural and ambient artists create hybrid variations based on the genres. As with the traditional music, the goal is to immerse the listener in a slow, deep, magical soundscape.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the gentle world of Chinese and Japanese contemplative music, on a program called "ASIAN WINDS." Music is by CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, KITARO, YANG YING, ANGELA JUI LEE, ANN LICATER, GARY STROUTSOS, RILEY LEE, YUVAL RON, and MIZUYO KOMIYA.
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Over a hundred years of electronic music have seen extraordinary innovations, but one thing has remained more or less unchanged: the use of electronic tones and repeating rhythms to navigate the virtual cosmic environment. Whether you call them sequencers, loopers, delay lines or drum machines, these rhythm devices provide the propulsive power for virtual travel to deep space. And when we get there, synthesizers and samplers can create floating, beatless, static tones to help us contemplate the awesome cosmic panorama.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it’s another deep space journey on electronic waves, on a program called "ELECTRON TRAVELER 5." Music is by ASCENDANT, SVERRE KNUT JOHANSEN, STEVE ROACH, RUDY ADRIAN, ISHQ, and JANNE HANHISUANTO.
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"Electro-acoustic"—a clumsy, literal name for an increasingly refined genre of contemporary music.
Of course 99% of the music made by humans over the centuries was made with acoustic instruments, some of which used the most advanced technologies of their time. The rate of change accelerated in the late 19th and early 20th century/ with the invention of telephony, radio, and recording. Along with new electronic instruments, electronics were applied to existing acoustic instruments, resulting in "electro-acoustic" hybrids like the electric guitar.
For a time, this led to a typical progressive versus conservative battle between acoustic and electronic music, but today most recording artists embrace both, and chose whatever instrument or processor gives them the expression they seek.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space...it's another journey along the electro-acoustic frontier, on a program called "TRANSONIC 2."
Music is by "BROTHERS" WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER & TOM EATON, THIERRY DAVID, ROBIN GUTHRIE & HAROLD BUDD, DAVID DARLING & HANS CHRISTIAN, CARLOS DENGLER, ECHO COLLECTIVE with harpist MARGARET HERMANT, and harpist KIRSTEN AGRESTA COPELY.
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The fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in April 2019 sent shock waves of distress and sadness around the world. You didn't have to be French, Catholic, or even believe in God to feel a profound sense of cultural loss.
Since the 12th century, Notre-Dame has been both a physical monument and a metaphysical symbol of the deepest aspirations and highest artistic values of humankind, at the center of one of the greatest cities on earth. For it to be destroyed would have been an insult to the global spirit, in a world that's already burdened by unprecedented challenges.
When the fire was out, it was clear that it could have been much worse. The spire and most of the oak and lead roof were destroyed and the exterior was badly burned — while the irreplaceable relics, priceless artwork, rose windows, bell towers, and three pipe organs were not seriously damaged. Over a billion Euros have been pledged to rebuild and restore the cathedral — a job that will take decades. Our Lady will rise again in the center of Paris, in all her Gothic magnificence.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space from longtime guest producer for sacred and classical music ELLEN HOLMES: A TRIBUTE to NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS.
Sacred music for chorus, strings and organ is by an all-star cast of French composers from the 16th to the 20th century, including MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER, FRANCOIS COUPERIN, JEAN RICHAFORT, PHILIPPE VERDELOT, JOSQUIN DES PRES, ANTOINE BRUMEL, CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS, CESAR FRANK, CHARLES GOUNOD, LILI BOULANGER, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MAURICE DURUFLÉ, and OLIVIER MESSIAEN.
We celebrate the artistic and spiritual legacy of a great cathedral: a TRIBUTE to NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS...on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.
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As winter unlocks its icy grip, we enter a transition time energized by the sound of water on the move. Melting...dripping...flowing...draining......raining.
In spring, water completes a journey that begins in the ocean, ascends to the clouds, falls back to earth, and ends, once again, in the sea. It's one of the core movements in the yearly cycle of life, and a powerful metaphor for the eternal cycles of stasis and flow, contraction and release.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, ambient hydrology for early spring on a program called RAINING. Music is by YAGYA, BIOSPHERE, DAN BARRIO, ROBERT RICH, JEFF PEARCE, and ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT.
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As we slog wearily but hopefully through the last storm of winter and welcome the transition to spring, it’s a good time to reconsider the music of the singular Minnesota guitarist and composer STEVE TIBBETTS—a man who fully lives the life of an artist, while still being a responsible citizen, a compassionate family man, an entertaining storyteller, an international traveler to the mountains of Nepal and the jungles of Bali—and a serious, open-minded musician.
As you might expect from someone with such broad and diverse experience, STEVE TIBBETTS’ music is multi-faceted, wide-ranging, and absolutely unique. He plays both electric and 12 string guitars in a non-standard tuning, and cites influences from jazz, rock, and world music, as well as his lifelong musical partner, percussionist MARK ANDERSON, and producer MANFRED EICHER of his longtime label ECM Records.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we focus on his more delicate and contemplative acoustic music, on "A STEVE TIBBETTS CELEBRATION."
We'll feature selections from his 2022 ECM Anthology HELLBOUND TRAIN; from his 1984 ECM album SAFE JOURNEY; and from SELWA, his 2004 collaboration with Tibetan nun and singer CHÖYING DROLMA.
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More than a hundred years into the evolution of electronic music, and a lot has changed, but some things remain the same. Synthesizers, samplers, Digital Audio Workstations, sound modification tools, and now music software and “plug-in” processors—have opened up an unlimited new creative environment—while the ancient principles of melody, harmony, and rhythm have been joined by the creation of virtual space. And when it comes to virtual space, electronic images of our cosmic environment continue to inspire what we like to call “spacemusic.”
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE we’re back to our happy place, with a program of interstellar electronics called STAR TRACER. Music is by S1GNS OF L1FE, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, SUBDREAM, DREAMSTATE LOGIC,TERMINUS VOID, JONN SERRIE, TOM MOORE & MIKE CLAY.
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Floating...through the long transition between winter and spring. In times of uncertainty, we hold back, restrain action, and wait. Patience and experience help us endure the time. We relax, observe the signs, quietly mark the changes, remain ready...for what comes next.
In music, a suspension is an extended tone connecting one chord with the following chord, often marked by a temporary dissonance. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a floating journey for a time of transition and temporary dissonance called SUSPENSION.
Music is by LUDOVICO EINAUDI, RUDY ADRIAN, ROBIN GUTHRIE & HAROLD BUDD, BRUNO SANFILIPPO & MATHIAS GRASSOW, and FRANK VAN BOGAERT.
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The otherworldly sound of Tibetan Buddhist chant: coarse and guttural in tone, yet powerfully calm and focused. For centuries it was a secret sound heard only in remote monasteries high on the Tibetan Plateau. It found its way west in the Tibetan diaspora, after the Chinese invasion and occupation of the mountain kingdom in 1951.
Along with the deep vocals came a full complement of unique metal instruments, from 16’ longhorns and powerful crashing cymbals, to resonant bowls, and delicate bells of astonishing clarity. A new genre was created by progressive Tibetan monks and adventurous western musicians like HENRY WOLFF and NANCY HENNINGS, with their groundbreaking 1972 album “TIBETAN BELLS.”
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we immerse ourselves in authentic Tibetan chant and cross-cultural creative hybrids, on a neo-Tibetan/Himalayan journey called SECRET SOUNDS OF TIBET.
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It's a perfectly complementary musical combination: the tuned metallic bell tones of the vibraphone and the natural wooden resonance of the marimba. They're both members of the family of mallet percussion instruments, but there's quite a difference in age. The marimba hails from sub-Saharan Africa and is centuries old, while the vibraphone—an updated version of the steel marimba—was invented in Indiana in the early 1920s.
Mallet instruments have been associated with the post-Classical genre of Minimalism since the beginning. They were part of the standard college curriculum in percussion performance, so the early music of TERRY RILEY and STEVE REICH used mallet ensembles to create the precision rhythm patterns in their music.
Today the psychoactive rhythms, consonant harmonies, and simplified elements of Minimalism have influenced many other genres—from post-Classical, Experimental Improvisation, and Contemplative Ambient—to Electronic Dance Music, Techno, and instrumental post-Rock. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on the quiet side of Minimalism, on a program called MINIMAL SERENITY. Music is by the ARX DUO, MAX RICHTER, NICHOLAS CHASE, ADRIÁN DEMOĈ and ENSEMBLE RICERCATA, and the ABEL-STEINBERG-WINANT TRIO plays SOMEI SATO.
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For all the challenges that winter brings, it also offers a time for quiet, solitude, pristine stillness, rebirth, and renewal. This meditative aspect of the season has inspired contemporary post-classical composers to create sparse yet majestic soundscapes.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we bring together the serene melancholy of ambient chamber music, the patiently unfolding cadences of sacred minimalism, and the ethereal lightness of choral harmonies, on a program called A FRAGILE BEAUTY.
Music is by LUDOVICO EINAUDI, ELENI KARAINDROU, JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON, MAX RICHTER, and VOCES8.
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WINTER—like “The Dude” in the Coen brothers classic THE BIG LEBOWSKI—abides.
Well, maybe endures would be a better way to characterize a season that often overstays its welcome, and is commonly fraught with challenges both natural and human, that test our patience and stretch our resilience.
For ambient electronic musicians, winter inspires the creation of vast, frozen soundscapes, with profound dark drones, cold harmonies, sonic mist, fog, and snow. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, it's another superchilled electronic journey in the virtual north, on a program called WINTERSPACE 2. Music is by ERIK WØLLO, BRIAN ENO, GULAN, CARBON BASED LIFEFORMS, JEFF GREINKE, and ANDREA CALLIGARIS.
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Every winter we return to the superb folk, classical and contemporary music of Scandinavia and the Arctic north. These small but artistically mighty countries create music that's more significant than cultures a hundred times their size. Say what you will about democratic socialism, but their state-supported educational and cultural systems are second to none, and underwrite the development of creative talent in many genres.
Nourishing it all is the psychological power 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 folk, ambient, and chamber music from Scandinavia and the Arctic north, on a program called NORTHERN LIGHTS 4. Music by ANNBJØRG LIEN, SKÁLD, HAGATHORN, MAIJA KAUHANEN, ARJA KASTINEN, HILDUR GUTHNADÓTTIR, TERJE ISUNGSET, JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON, and ÓLAFUR ARNALDS.
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In the depths of winter, movement slows and time expands. Below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, flowing water becomes static crystals, locked and silent. At absolute zero, motion stops.
The sound of winter is low and slow: thick drones punctuated by dark bells and metallic overtones. The chilled air is heavy with water vapor, damping sounds and creating a hushed atmosphere. And when the storms come, the keening of the cold night wind creates an eerie wail.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, far north winter electronics, on a program called ICE NIGHT. Music is by BIOSPHERE, SIMON LOMAX. DEEP CHILL NETWORK, HAROLD BUDD, CSILLAGKOD, BRAIN LAUGHTER, ALTUS, and JANNE HANHISUANTO.
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BERLIN, 1970: Out of the new creative territory opened up by electronics and mind-expanding chemistry comes a modest, hardworking electric guitarist named MANUEL GÖTTSCHING. He would go on to pioneer the sound of the electronic space guitar, help define popular instrumental spacemusic, and even influence the rhythmic foundation of techno and electronic dance music.
Riding the creative ferment of the 1970s, he founded the band ASH RA TEMPEL—later just ASHRA—then continued solo as MANUEL GÖTTSCHING. He was tireless in helping define the original German Kozmik Musik scene, along with KLAUS SCHULZE and legendary groups like TANGERINE DREAM, AGITATION FREE, KRAFTWERK, and CAN. While others got bogged down in theoretical or technical complexity, he concentrated on creating enjoyable music!
MANUEL GÖTTSCHING ascended to the cosmic soundscapes he created in December 2022 at age 70. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a MANUEL GÖTTSCHING posthumous retrospective, on a program called ESSENTIAL ASHRA.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view program page ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view program page ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
The subtle, melodic rhythms of the PANArt "hang" — arguably the first new musical instrument of the 21st century. It's a descendant of the steel pan drum, the product of Swiss craftsmanship and perfectionism. And in the hands of a musician with the right sensibility, it's a vehicle for innerspace travel. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, summer spacemusic for the hang and some of its siblings in the resonant percussion family, on a program called "CEREMONY." Music is by JAMES HOOD, LAURA INSERRA & DARREN GIBBS, CHRISTOPHER OF THE WOLVES, TRYSHE DHEVNEY, and RAVID GOLDSCHMIDT. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Summer...invites us to relax, take a break from work, and have a bit of fun. I know, it's hard to tune out the noise of our contentious politics these days, but even the most ardent partisans need to rest and recharge for the battles ahead. So in summer we travel, we explore, we play, we dance, we celebrate with family and friends. The music of summer is lighter, happier, more active. And for some ambient composers, it's an opportunity to envision a better world by creating idealized sonic environments. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient atmospheres for the perfect summer, on a program called SUMMER VISIONS. Music is by AMBIENTALISM, PETER CALANDRA, EDAMAME, PETE KUZMA, TAKASHI SUZUKI, ASHANEEN, ISHQ, and IASOS. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It doesn't take much: a quiet drone, soft skin drums, and hand claps in this case — but it opens up an immersive perceptual world that's encoded in the word "trance." Trance music has a surprisingly long provenance, stretching back from the electronic beats of today to the mists of prehistory. Whether fueled by psychoactive substances, ecstatic group experiences, or just applied boredom, the world of trance music has proven both durable and adaptable. There's acid trance, epic trance, euro-trance, tech and progressive trance, vocal trance, and dream trance — just to mention the electronic dance variations. From the traditional acoustic drumming of North Africa/ to the relentless pounding of 140 beats per minute on the electronic dance floor, repetition and the power of extended, slowly changing rhythms are the foundation. Add infinite feedback guitar and Ambient electronics, and you have a sonic vehicle for travel to exotic virtual spaces. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an ethno-tronic journey on psycho-active trance rhythms, on a program called TRANCE PLANET. If the name sounds familiar, it was used in the 1990s for a series of World Music compilations on the late Triloka Records label. Music is by TIM GERWING, FRORE & SHANE MORRIS, MICHEL BANABILA, ROBERT RICH, JON HASSELL, MA JA LE & VIR UNIS, and STILLPOINT. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
We continue our tribute and retrospective for the singular recording artist and film composer VANGELIS, who joined the immortals in May 2022 at age 79. EVANGELOS ODYSSEAS PAPATHANASSIOU was born in Greece in 1943. He showed a natural early talent for music and was entirely self-taught. In his 20s he was the keyboard player in the hugely successful Greek progressive rock band APHRODITE’S CHILD, but he chose to abandon a conventional pop music career and began working as a film composer in Greece. In the early 1970s he moved to Paris, where he worked with French film director FREDERIC ROSSIF creating lush electronic scores for animal documentaries. They became so popular they helped establish him as a solo recording artist. In 1975 he relocated to London in and built Nemo Studios, where he created his Academy Award-winning electronic score for CHARIOTS OF FIRE, and classic scores for BLADE RUNNER, MISSING, ANTARCTICA, THE BOUNTY, 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE, ALEXANDER, the 1980 PBS documentary series COSMOS, and many others. His gift for opulent melodies and a retrogressive style based on 19th century Romantic classicism was balanced by his early embrace of the tools and techniques of electronic music—a highly effective combination of old and new. Vangelis never learned to read or write music, but he and his engineers pioneered a virtuoso working method and technical setup that allowed him to compose, play, and record simultaneously, often in one “take.” On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we celebrate the second half of his stellar career, on a program called VANGELIS Part 2. = We'll feature music from his solo albums SPIRAL, OCEANIC, NOCTURNE, JUNO TO JUPITER, and ROSETTA; = and film scores for OPERA SAUVAGE, 1492 CONQUEST OF PARADISE, and BLADE RUNNER. It’s Part 2 of our posthumous retrospective of VANGELIS, on...
"Out of the chaos of noise," he says with typical modesty, "I function as a channel through which music emerges." SO POWERFUL is this gentleman's music, that his name on a film soundtrack has marquee value equal to the director or the actors; SO INFLUENTIAL is his sound that an entire generation of film and television composers have been affected by his style; SO POPULAR is his music that his records leap musical boundaries and find their way into the collections of thousands of listeners to all categories of music; SO EXTENSIVE is his talent, that after almost 30 years, he continues to fascinate record buyers, making both enormously commercial and deeply personal albums. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a tribute to Greek composer VANGELIS, who died in May at 79 after a brilliant career as a popular artist and film composer. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
When the definitive history of cross-cultural musical fusions and hybrids is written, there will be an honored place for the congruence of Indian classical and ambient-electronic music. Of all the experiments that were attempted after electronic instruments matured to the point of viability in the mid 20th century, this combination was one of the earliest and most successful. Synthesizers expanded the role of microtones and drones in Indian music, while raga and tala—the traditional melodic and rhythm systems of Indian classical music—brought a welcome sophistication to electronic music. It's an area we've explored since the earliest days of this program. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another journey where Indian classical meets ambient/trance, on a program called "INDO-TRONICA 4." Music is by DAVID HELPLING with NIDHI BHATMULEY and BENJY WERTHEIMER, DAVID PARSONS, WOUTER KELLERMAN & DAVID ARKENSTONE, DJ CHEB I SABBAH, MYCHAEL DANNA, BEN LEINBACH & JAI UTTAL, and AL GROMER KHAN. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
In the evolution of cinema, music has been a parallel language, evolving along with the visual and dramatic language of film. In the beginning it was live accompaniment by piano, orchestra, and let's not forget The Mighty Wurlizter! Then came recorded sound, and film music flowered into dozens of subgenres, from conventional to experimental. Whether it's a traditional score for orchestra, a vehicle for popular songs, a fusion of western and world music, a dark and twisted electronic journey, or a subtle ambient tone painting — music is there to create context, to energize, to express the internal feeling of the characters — and deepen our emotional connection to the story. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an hour of choice ambient music for contemporary film, on a program called CINEMOTION. Music is by HANS ZIMMER, DAVID NEWMAN, GREG EDMONSON, LISA GERRARD, and RICHARD MARVIN. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
We can thank Albert Einstein's math teacher for the concept of this program. In 1908 Professor HERMANN MINKOWSKI presented an interpretation of Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity that unified time and the three dimensions of physical space, into a single four-dimensional continuum called "spacetime." So physicists began with three-dimensional space, added the dimension of time, and came up with four-dimensional space. Ambient musicians have done just the opposite. All music exists in the dimension of time: ambient electronic music lives in time, and creates the impression of virtual space in us. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a four-dimensional journey, on a program called SPACETIME. Music is by GLOBAL COMMUNICATION, LEMONGRASS, TIME TRAVELER, THE GREAT NORTHERN, BLUETECH, S7VEN, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, and ALTUS. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It's a marriage that seems preordained: the appealingly simple, tonal repetitions of minimalism, and the ancient, irresistible kinetic energy of rhythmic grooves. A group of experimental, percussion-oriented composers in Europe and the U.S. have recognized the potential of this combination, and set out to create a genre. On this transmission of Hearts of Space...beguiling, time-warping rhythms meet ambient atmospheres, on a program called "MINIMAL GROOVE 2." Music is by THIERRY DAVID, NEN, DON LI, REPERCUSSION UNIT, LOOP 2.4.3, MICHAEL JON FINK, and HANG MASSIVE. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Acoustic versus electric: once upon a time it was an issue — infamously with Bob Dylan's plugged-in performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Electric won that round, at least for guitars and popular music. But by the mid 1970's acoustic was back, with the rise of Windham Hill Records and its purist approach to so-called "American Primitive" guitar and piano. Many innovations have come and gone in the evolution of music since then. We still have purely acoustic folk, jazz, new age, and classical music, but without much fuss, electro-acoustic hybrids have become increasingly mainstream. Acoustic instruments provide a familiar, comforting, organic sound, and support musical expression; electronics expand the subtle dimensions of tone, imagery, and ethereality. Together they make a potent contemporary combination. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we explore the transition from acoustic to electro-acoustic, on a program called TRANSONIC. Music is by WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER, & TOM EATON, DAVID MICHAEL, WILL ACKERMAN solo, RYAN JUDD, TOM EATON solo, JEFF PEARCE, RUSSEL WALDER, and DAGOBERT BÖHM. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
All most Americans know about Vietnam is that we fought a long and pointless war there in the 1960s and 70s. Today, if you live on the west coast, more likely than not there's a delicious Vietnamese restaurant in your community. But the ancient cultures, and the music of Southeast Asia and Vietnam in particular, is a mystery to most of us. A select group of Western composers and musicians have been drawn to these cultures, along with Southeast Asian musicians who've relocated to the West. They're creating a new fusion of traditional and contemporary music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space...subtle sounds from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia, on a program called ANCESTRAL VOICES 2. Music is by GRAYHAWK, LÊ TỰ CƯỜNG, PEETER VÄHI, RICHARD HOROWITZ, PHAN KIM THÀNH, VANESSA VÕ, LÊ TUẤN HÙNG & ĐẶNG KIM HIỀN, TRÍ NGUYỄN & THE ILIOS QUARTET. [ view program page ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It's been more than 30 years since the German genius for music and technology encountered psychoactive chemistry at the end of the 1960s. The rest, as they say, is history; but when that history is finally written, the name of one musician will dominate the tale. KLAUS SCHULZE was there from the very beginning, starting as a drummer in a psychedelic rock group, then embracing electronics when the first synthesizers arrived in Germany. He was a member of both of the seminal German electronic groups — Ash Ra Tempel and Tangerine Dream, then headed off on his own — thereby inventing the identity of the solo electronic musician, working in his personal studio to create original music. Perhaps more than any single composer, he developed a musical language for electronic spacemusic that's become so pervasive and influential, it's now part of the environment. And since the early 1970s, his music has been one of the foundations of the sound of this program. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we bring our long love affair with the music of Klaus Schulze up to date on a program called KLAUS SCHULZE : CONTEMPORARY WORKS. Long careers in popular music are rare; long and prolific careers are exceptional. But the output of Klaus Schulze has been so extraordinary that even his most dedicated fans are often overwhelmed. By 2001, his discography included 35 solo albums, some 36 collaborations, and a group of monumental retrospective box sets, ranging from 10 to 50 albums each. The new millennium did not diminish his creativity. In 2000, he released a new 10 CD set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS I, and followed it up in 2002 with a 5 disc set called CONTEMPORARY WORKS II. As you can see, the problem in bringing you Klaus Schulze is not...
Popular electronic music was born out of the creative ferment of the 1960s. As a result, it took on some of the character of the cultures from which it emerged. In academic settings, it was dry, intellectual and experimental; in Germany, technical and mechanistic; in France, lush and romantic; in England, it was integrated into Progressive Rock; in the U.S. and Japan, it became part of the commercial record business, with electronic versions of classical works by Bach, Debussy, Satie and Pachelbel. While in California — as you might expect — it was embraced by grassroots psychedelic and spiritual subcultures creating music for a New Age. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, sonic explorers like TERRY RILEY, MICHAEL STEARNS, STEVE ROACH, KEVIN BRAHENY, IASOS, and DON ROBERTSON discovered the power of electronic music to take listeners on virtual journeys across time and space. Soon, an international cohort of electronic musicians—aided by drugs and new instruments—began to create an informal genre of electronic "spacemusic." A young rock guitarist from Tucson, Arizona named MICHAEL STEARNS became fascinated with electronic music and moved to Los Angeles in 1975 to be part of the emerging scene. He learned to program synthesizers, started an independent record label, and began releasing his own music in 1977. In 1981 he produced a classic of California electronic journey music called PLANETARY UNFOLDING. Long out of print, it was remastered and re-released by Projekt Records in 2022. Combining early analog synthesizers with natural ambient sounds, ethereal chorales, and powerful electronic effects, it's a profound journey across time and space. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, we feature PLANETARY UNFOLDING in two continuous "sides" (remember sides?) with an interlude by MICHAEL STEARNS from THE SOFT TOUCH OF MORNING LIGHT, and complete the hour with additional music by MICHAEL STEARNS...
The Turkish-born, Montreal-based musician MERÇAN DEDE has long been a mainstay of our Middle Eastern ambient programs. In a world of hyper-conservative Islam that bans music entirely in some countries, Merçan Dede is a member of the diaspora of Middle Eastern artists who've reluctantly abandoned their homelands in search of personal and creative freedom. Deeply influenced by the spirituality of the mystical Islamic sect of Sufism, his fusion of traditional acoustic sounds of the Middle East — the ney, the kanoun, the saz, and the oud (plus the Western violin) — with rhapsodic vocals and electronic soundscapes powered by the infectious rhythms of the darbuka hand drum — has brought him many awards, appearances at major world music festivals, film scoring work, and collaborations with other important artists. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE — the microtonal melodies, trance-inducing rhythms, and electronic ambience of Middle Eastern music you can trance to...on a program called ECSTATIC RHYTHMS 2. We feature MERÇAN DEDE, plus Persian-fusion from ZIKR PROJECT, LOGA RAMIN TORKIAN and MAMAK KHADEM. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
THIS WEEK Christians around the world observe the Easter holiday, remembering the epic story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The powerful themes of death and rebirth, and the related celebrations of Holy Week, give the event a depth and majesty that mark it as the most important Christian festival of the year. As you'd expect, Easter has inspired some of the most sublime and exalted music of the Christian tradition. On this transmission of Hearts of Space from guest producer ELLEN HOLMES, choral and instrumental classics from across nine centuries of Christian sacred music, on a program called "AN EASTER CELEBRATION." Music is by WILLIAM BYRD, HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, RIHARDS DUBRA, PATRICK HAWES, GABRIEL FAURE, OLA GJEILO, MANUEL CARDOSO, ANTOINE BRUMEL, JOHN JENKINS, HEINRICH SCHUTZ, J.S. BACH, LISA GERRARD & PATRICK CASSIDY, ARVO PART, and EDWARD ELGAR. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It's utterly without tension, reliably tonal and melodic, and wouldn't hurt a fly. Yet New Age music has been the subject of decades of casual ridicule. Originally a grassroots phenomenon with a do-it-yourself creative ethic made possible by the home studio movement, after a period of mainstream success in the 1980s, it retreated to serving its core audience. Despite the criticism, New Age remained a popular niche, showing that a therapeutic music for relaxation, meditation, virtual travel, and alternative forms of spirituality had become something of a psychological necessity in high-intensity modern life. Around 2004, a critical reappraisal of the genre began, led by music blogger Douglas Mcgowan and by serious music collectors, Gen X'ers and Millennials who were children during the glory days of New Age. Evaluating musicians on their own merit rather than writing off the entire genre led to the conviction that some of the artists had been underappreciated, and the genre itself had been overcriticized. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, New Age music reconsidered — on a program called THE NEXT DIMENSION. Music is by DEAN EVENSON, SCOTT HUCKABAY & PHIL HEAVEN, JONNY LIPFORD, DAVE EGGAR, HIROKI OKONO, UMA SILBEY, MICHAEL BRANT DEMARIA, FORREST SMITHSON, MIKE CLAY, IASOS, and PAUL AVGERINOS. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
It's fitting that we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in March, when we can either be enduring the final insults of winter, or enjoying the gentle rains, green leaves and pink blossoms of spring. Whatever the weather, Celtic music can rise to the occasion. Of all the world's folk musics, the Celtic tradition is one of the most extensive in range and varied in emotional expression. From heroic marches to joyous dances, from melancholy dirges to heart-rending ballads — Celtic music reflects the panorama of human feeling. The Celtic revival of the 1980s and 90s brought new attention to the genre, and motivated native Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Breton musicians to new heights, while many other nationalities of Celtic descent were inspired to extend the boundaries of the genre, leading to a kind of golden era for Celtic music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's another excursion in the Celtic soundscape, on a program called THE ENCHANTED HARP. Music is by AINE MINOGUE, ADRIAN VON ZIEGLER, JEFF JOHNSON & BRIAN DUNNING, WILLIAM COULTER & MARY McLAUGHLIN, DAVY SPILLANE, SKYEDANCE, AOIFE NI FHEARAIGH, TRINE OPSAHL, SARAH COPUS, and MÉAV, [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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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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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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.
[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Gongs, bells, and bowls. This trio of metal instruments pack a sonic and psychological punch way out of proportion with their utter simplicity.
Long revered for their role in religious ceremonies, almost magical in their ability to delight and entrance, they stand virtually alone in the resonant space between music and pure sound. They've been joined in recent years by the synthesizer. It's not simple, but it can create sounds unconstrained by the physical limitations of vibrating materials. As you'll hear...it's a marriage made in heaven.
On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, another journey in the resonant space of bells, bowls, gongs — and synthesizers — on a program called SACRED SINGING METALS.
Music and sound experiences are by XUMANTRA, HUMAN METRONOME and 33 TETRAGAMMON, STEVEN HALPERN, LIQUID BELLS, DEUTER, and KLAUS WIESE.
[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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.
[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
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.
[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
There's a complementary relationship between classical string instruments and the extended winters of northern Europe, where the string family evolved. In the chilled, wet, gray winters north of the Mediterranean, the rich harmonies and bright overtones of the string family pierce the cold and dark, and touch our souls.
Whether the music is noble and expansive, somber and melancholy, or quiet and contemplative—it nourishes the spirit and warms the heart. Today, a new breed of classical composer/performers in Europe and the U.S. are combining strings, electronics and studio techniques to create a contemplative ambient music for the 21st century.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, warm winter strings and cool electronics for the season, on a program called FROZEN TIME 2. Music is by MARTIN TILLMAN, HANS CHRISTIAN, DAVID DARLING, CHRISTOPHER TIGNOR, JOAN JEANRENAUD, and MAX RICHTER.
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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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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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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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The austere folk music of Norway and the Scandinavian countries has a paradox at its heart: in a land of frigid Arctic winters and stark, glacial landscapes, the music overflows with warmth and beauty. And while the winter days are dark, the nights are illuminated with the intoxicating spectacle of the northern lights.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a Nordic winter's journey called NIGHT LIGHT, featuring Norwegian lullabies sung by VIDIA WESENLUND with music by MICHAEL STEARNS, plus selections by ANNBJORG LIEN, LENA WILLEMARK & ALE MOLLER, OYSTEIN SEVAG, and STREIF.
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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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In our year-end festivals of sacred music, we touch a human ritual whose origins are lost in time.
For millennia, we've gathered in churches and sanctuaries to sing, worship, listen and renew our spirits. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a year's end celebration of the treble voice, the massed chorus, and the sublime world of sacred sound, on a program called HYMNS and PSALMS.
Music is by LIBERA, STATE OF GRACE, GIORGIA FUMANTI, HAYLEY WESTENRA, LUMINOUS WORLD ORCHESTRA, KEVIN KELLER, ARVO PART, and ALFRED SCHNITTKE.
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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.
[ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]