The Hearts of Space Guide to Cosmic, Transcendent and Innerspace Music, originally self-published in 1981 by Anna Turner and Stephen Hill, returns to print as a vital document of the New Age music revolution. This annotated guide captures the expansive musical universe of Music from the Hearts of Space, the influential radio program that has been broadcasting cosmic soundscapes since 1973.
Hearts of Space began as a late-night transmission from Berkeley's KPFA radio, airing Sunday nights from 11pm to 2am. Created by Turner and Hill, the program became a crucial platform for introducing American audiences to ambient, electronic, and transcendent music from around the world. Featured artists documented in the guide include Brian Eno, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, Michael Stearns, Dead Can Dance, Johannes Schmoelling, Peter Baumann, and Vidna Obmana, among many others.
The guide serves as both historical document and practical roadmap through what Turner and Hill call "flexible/organic" musical categories including "ambient," "new age," "electronic space music," and "cosmic rock." Each entry provides artist and album information with contextual annotations that illuminate the music's relationship to consciousness exploration and meditation practices.
Shortly after the guide's original publication, Hearts of Space was syndicated to 35 public radio stations through NPR, eventually reaching over 1,100 broadcasts and becoming a cornerstone of late-night public radio programming. The show helped legitimize and define what became known as New Age music while introducing countless listeners to artists working at the intersection of technology, spirituality, and sound.
The timing of this reissue addresses contemporary culture's need for alternatives to digital overwhelm. The guide's focus on music designed for introspection and transcendence offers both historical perspective and practical guidance for those seeking contemplative soundscapes in an attention-driven world.
The Hearts of Space Guide documents a pivotal moment when electronic instruments, global musical traditions, and consciousness exploration converged to create entirely new sonic possibilities. For collectors, music historians, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and spirituality, this reissue provides access to a foundational text that helped define an entire musical movement.