While the few albums that founded the Spacemusic genre 30
years ago have been cited as a major influence by a number of
electronic musicians, very few of the albums that followed have
actually captured the mysterious minimalism of the era. By
today's technological standards, these albums might be
considered crude, but there is an elegance to them - an
enduring quality difficult to quantify.

Among the core albums of this genre were Rubycon and
Phaedra by Tangerine Dream, Picture Music and Mirage by
Klaus Schulze and Inventions for Electric Guitar and New Age of
Earth by Ash Ra Tempel. Released in the 1970s, all were
considered to be ahead of their time. Now 30 or 40 years on we
find that contemporary music has still not caught up, nor will it
ever it seems. These works were realized at a unique point in
history. In part a reaction to new music technology by way of the
recent availability of the electronic music synthesizer as well as
by an emerging cosmic-based spirituality, early Spacemusic
intertwined the pure exploration of sound and electronic textures
with an influence of cosmic yearning and a claustrophobic
political climate. Yet, it was the more aesthetic based elements
of the day that molded Spacemusic into a musical form. Music
from Karlheinz Stockhausen and his groundbreaking electronic
work Hymnen as tempered by the psychedelic improvisations of
rock groups like the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd as well as
epic sized classical compositions by the venerable Richard
Wagner informed this movement with a sense of scale. The
result of these cultural and technological influences is a
timeless and unique music characterized by a mysterious mood
and evocative atmosphere.

In the time following the initial Spacemusic era, many artists
have been inspired to realize their own music. Several releases
have approached the integrity of the original materworks. Tune in
to STAR'S END this weekend for music from albums by Arc,
Node, Brendan Pollard, Redshift.

To read the complete article on Spacemusic, please access:
http://www.starsend.org/berlinschool.html

To read an interesting article on the subject of Spacemusic
written by John Diliberto of ECHOES, please access:
http://www.echoes.org/TimeWarped.html

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Free System Projekt - STAR'S END Archive Recordings

Headed by Marcel Engels, Free System Projekt combines the
mood and mystery of classic 70's spacemusic with the
sensibilities of the 21st century. Along with fellow Dutch
countrymen Ruud Heij and Frank van der Wel, Engels and Free
System Projekt have become one of Holland's most active
electronic music ensembles. Free System Projekt made their
full-on stateside concert debut in Philadelphia on 13 October
2001 at The Gatherings (Philadelphia's premiere concert series
of innovative music). Following the concert, the group played live
on STAR'S END. This weekend STAR'S END will feature an
excerpt from this on-air performance.

For more on Free System Projekt, access the STAR'S END
Profile: http://www.starsend.org/freesystemprojekt.html

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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday night/Sunday morning
from 1am-6am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.1fm WXPH Harrisburg, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
104.9fm Allentown, PA

and live on the web...

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Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org