Hearts of Space
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hearts of Space | |
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| Genre | Ambient music, New Age music, Electronic music, space music and other related styles |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 minutes, weekly |
| Country |  USA |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | KPFA |
| Syndicates | 200+ NPR stations and XM Satellite Radio |
| Hosts | Stephen Hill |
| Creators | Stephen Hill, Anna Turner |
| Producers | Steve Davis |
| Executive producers | Stephen Hill |
| Air dates | 1973 to |
| Website www.hos.com |
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Hearts of Space is an American weekly syndicated public radio show [1] featuring music of a contemplative nature [2] drawn largely from the ambient, New Age and electronic genres, while also including classical, world, Celtic, experimental and other music selections [3] [4]. For many years the show's producer and presenter, Stephen Hill, has applied the term "space music" to the music broadcast on the show, irrespective of genre. [5]
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[edit] History
Hearts of Space is the longest-running radio program of its type in the world. It was first broadcast in 1973 as a two-hour long late-night show on KPFA in Berkeley, where Hill used the on-air pseudonym "Timotheo". Shortened to sixty-minutes in duration, it entered syndication on public radio in 1983, and quickly grew in popularity. It is currently broadcast by over 200 public radio stations [6] weekly, and is also broadcast nightly by XM Satellite Radio. As of October 2007, more than 800 installments of the show have been produced.
[edit] Production details
Episodes are thematic, commencing with a voice-over introduction by the host, followed by almost an hour of uninterrupted segue-mixed music. The show concludes with back-announced track details. Prior to her death, co-producer Anna Turner (1944-96) jointly back-announced the show with Hill. As of October 2007 Hearts of Space is presented by Hill and produced by Steve Davis. A number of other individuals have worked on Hearts of Space, including guest producer Ellen Holmes who created a series of "Adagio Recordings classical spacemusic" shows.
[edit] Related projects
The Hearts of Space radio show has spawned a number of related projects, including an online commercial music streaming service [7] started in 2001, and a record label started in 1984. The latter released nearly 150 albums over the course of its existence. The label's catalogue is now owned by Valley Entertainment [8], and is no longer associated with Stephen Hill's activities as a radio and music producer.
[edit] Cultural influence
The show was parodied on MST3K Episode 303 ("Pod People"). A running gag during the film, which sported an ambient noise soundtrack similar to the music typical of the show, was to imitate the announcer of the program. One of the host segments featured "Music from Some Guys in Space" as a parody of the show. According to the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, the MST3k staff were sent several albums from the Hearts of Space producers after the episode aired.
[edit] References
- ^ Herberlein, L.A. (2002). The Rough Guide to Internet Radio. Rough Guides, 95. ISBN 1858289610.
- ^ "When you listen to space and ambient music you are connecting with a tradition of contemplative sound experience whose roots are ancient and diverse. The genre spans historical, ethnic, and contemporary styles. In fact, almost any music with a slow pace and space-creating sound images could be called spacemusic." Stephen Hill, co-founder, Hearts of Space, What is spacemusic?
- ^ "The program has defined its own niche — a mix of ambient, electronic, world, new age, classical and experimental music....Slow-paced, space-creating music from many cultures — ancient bell meditations, classical adagios, creative space jazz, and the latest electronic and acoustic ambient music are woven into a seamless sequence unified by sound, emotion, and spatial imagery." Stephen Hill, co-founder, Hearts of Space, essay titled Contemplative Music, Broadly Defined
- ^ Hearts of Space Playlist - Complete list of genres
- ^ "A timeless experience...as ancient as the echoes of a simple bamboo flute or as contemporary as the latest ambient electronica. Any music with a generally slow pace and space-creating sound image can be called spacemusic. Generally quiet, consonant, ethereal, often without conventional rhythmic and dynamic contrasts, spacemusic is found within many historical, ethnic, and contemporary genres."Stephen Hill, co-founder, Hearts of Space, sidebar "What is Spacemusic?" in essay Contemplative Music, Broadly Defined
- ^ PublicRadioFan.com - Listings by program: Hearts of Space
- ^ "Hill's Hearts of Space Web site provides streaming access to an archive of hundreds of hours of spacemusic artfully blended into one-hour programs combining ambient, electronic, world, New Age and classical music." Steve Sande, The Sky's the Limit with Ambient Music, SF Chronicle, Sunday, January 11, 2004
- ^ Labels: Hearts of Space Music
[edit] See also
- Echoes, a nightly ambient music show produced by music critic John Diliberto.
- Musical Starstreams, a US-based commercial radio program produced and hosted by Forest since 1981.
- Star's End, a weekly ambient music programme broadcast on public radio in Philadelphia since 1976, hosted by Chuck van Zyl.
- Ultima Thule Ambient Music, a weekly ambient music show broadcast on community radio in Australia since 1989.
