Far From the Hearth | The Ambients (S3

Far From the Hearth | The Ambients (S3 | E119)

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A Pantheon of Ambient Music with Composer Jonathan Ammons – This is Part Two of a Two-Part Series.

Composer Jonathan Ammons released an exciting new collection this year and we have the pleasure of hearing him take us through both the tracks and the inspirations behind Far from the Hearth. This show is like a game of ping pong. Jonathan serves them up and I return the shots – most of the time. Jonathan has lots of winners. I tossed in a few good ones too. Lots of back and forth – a good episode here.

Featuring Jonathan Ammons

Jonathan Ammons is an essayist and journalist, bartender, musician, Southern native, and avid traveler. A contributor to Salon, Mashed, 100 Days in Appalachia, Mountain Xpress, WNC Magazine, Asheville-Citizen Times, Bold Life and Paste Magazine, he also helped open Asheville’s MG Road cocktail lounge, and has worked and staged at Chicago’s Aviary by Grant Achatz, as well as the Bazaar by Jose Andres in Los Angeles. He founded the Dirty Spoon in 2015 with Catherine Campbell, eventually turning it into a radio show. He serves as the show’s producer, co-host, showrunner, scriptwriter, DJ, and audio engineer, and writes some of the original music. Follow his exploits as he eats, drinks, and stumbles his way through his beloved Southern culture on twitter or instagram.

Far From the Hearth | The Ambients (S3 | E119)

Whitey on the Moon | Gil Scott Heron

“Whitey on the Moon” is a 1970 spoken word poem by Gil Scott-Heron. It was released as the ninth track on Scott-Heron’s debut album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Recorded over a simple drum accompaniment, it tells of medical debt, high taxes and poverty experienced at the time of the Apollo Moon landings. The poem critiques the resources spent on the space program while Black Americans were experiencing social and economic disparities at home. “Whitey on the Moon” was prominently featured in the 2018 biographical film about Neil Armstrong, First Man. It was also featured in the second episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country. It received renewed interest in 2021 following spaceflights by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, which were seen as emblematic of the inequities highlighted by the poem.

Deep Breakfast | Ray Lynch

Deep Breakfast is Ray Lynch’s third studio album, released on December 12, 1984. Upon its initial release, the artist sold over 72,000 albums out of his small apartment in San Rafael, California. After signing with Music West Records, the album was released widely in March 1986. Upon its re-release, the album was universally praised for its mesh of electronic and classical sounds, with several calling it an evolution to the respective genres. Eventually, in 1989, the album peaked at #2 on Billboard’s “Top New Age Albums” chart, behind David Lanz’s album Cristofori’s Dream. The album was eventually certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1994.

Far From the Hearth | The Ambients | Show Playlist

Track	Artist	Album	Year
Elemental	Tusca	Dust Journal	2016
Starving Through Your Space Race	Jonathan Ammons	Far From the Hearth	2023
Whitey On The Moon	Gil Scott Heron	Small Talk	1970
Sketch 3	Tim Hecker	Dropped Pianos	2011
Just Walk Out	Jonathan Ammons	Far From the Hearth	2023
Devouring the Whole	Villages	Procession Acts	2015
Ruins	Klaus Schulze	The Crimes of Suspense	2000
Open Your Eyes	Tusca	Dust Journal	2016
The Crooked Tree that Marks the Trail	Jonathan Ammons	Far From the Hearth	2023
Carousel	Tusca	Dust Journal	2016
Observer Effect	Amulets	Blooming	2021
Letter from Home	Ulrich Schnauss	A Strangely Isolated Place	2003
The Cunning Little Vixen II: Allegro	Leos Janacek / The Prague Symphony Orchestra	The Cunning Little Vixen Symphonic Suites	1999
Peter Grimes Opus 33, Act III, Interlude V	Benjamin Britten	Peter Grimes	2011
Falling From the Garden	Ray Lynch	Deep Breakfast	1984
To Feel Again / Trois	Jon Hopkins	To Feel Again / Trois	2022
Patchwork	Laurie Spiegel	The Expanding Universe	2012
Cast a Double Shadow	Brett Naucke	Cast a Double Shadow	2023
Sometimes He’s In My Dreams	Mary Lattimore	Silver Ladders	2020