You’re lying in bed at 2:00 AM. The house is quiet, but your radio—or maybe a laptop these days—is humming with a sound that feels like a slow-motion dive into a nebula. If you live in Philadelphia or haunt the deeper corners of the internet, you know this sound. It’s Star’s End.
For over four decades, this program has been the sonic bedrock for the restless and the dreamers. But while most listeners recognize the hushed, gravelly guidance of longtime host Chuck van Zyl, there is another name that keeps popping up in the digital archives and the donor rolls: Tony Masiello.
Honestly, people get confused here. If you Google the name, you’ll find a former Mayor of Buffalo. That’s a different Tony. The Tony Masiello we’re talking about isn’t a politician; he’s essentially the unofficial historian and a "super-patron" of the ambient music scene.
The Man Behind the Archives
If you’ve ever gone looking for a specific broadcast of Star’s End from, say, August 1987 or a random rainy night in 2003, you’ve likely benefited from Masiello’s work.
He is the primary force behind the massive Star’s End presence on the Internet Archive. We’re talking about hundreds of hours of high-quality "rips" from the WXPN live stream. He doesn't just record them; he cleans them up. He uses tools like mp3directcut to ensure the transitions are tight and the metadata is actually useful.
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It's a labor of love.
Back in the late 80s, Masiello was recording these shows onto cassette tapes. Think about that for a second. Three 90-minute cassettes just to capture a single five-hour broadcast. He recently transferred a 1987 broadcast from those original masters into 24-bit/96khz FLAC files. That is some serious dedication to a niche genre.
Why Tony Masiello and Star’s End Matter
In a world of Spotify algorithms that serve up "Lo-Fi Beats to Study To," Star’s End is a different beast. It’s curated. It’s human.
Tony Masiello’s involvement goes beyond just archiving. In 2018, he won a high-profile auction at WXPN for a private "Salon Concert." This wasn't just a fan meet-and-greet. It resulted in a live electronic realization by Chuck van Zyl that was eventually released as a CD for station donors.
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Masiello basically said at the time that while there are a million outlets for ambient music now, nothing matches the "formulated mixes" and the "live-to-air" energy of the WXPN show. He’s right. There’s a certain vulnerability to a live five-hour ambient set that a curated playlist just can't replicate.
What is Star’s End anyway?
If you're new here, here is the deal:
- It started in 1976.
- It’s the second longest-running ambient show on Earth (only Music from the Hearts of Space has it beat).
- It airs from 1:00 AM to 6:00 AM every Sunday morning.
- The vibe is "spacemusic," Berlin School, and avant-garde.
The show isn't just about "relaxing." Sometimes it’s a bit dark. Sometimes it’s intensely rhythmic with those classic 70s-style sequencers. Tony Masiello has been there for all of it, documenting the evolution from analog synthesizers to the modern modular rigs you see today.
How to Access the Masiello Collection
If you want to hear what the fuss is about, you don't have to wait until 1:00 AM on Sunday.
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You can head over to the Internet Archive and search for "tonymasiello." You’ll find a treasure trove. You can hear broadcasts from the early 2000s when WXPN was still streaming in Windows Media Audio (WMA). Masiello even leaves notes on the quality, warning listeners about lossy compression artifacts from those early digital days.
That’s the hallmark of a true archivist.
Actionable Steps for Ambient Fans
If you’re looking to dive deep into this world, here is how you do it properly:
- Check the Archive: Look up the "Star's End Radio Shows and Broadcasts" collection on Archive.org. Start with the 1987-04-26 broadcast for a taste of the "old school" vibe.
- Listen Live: Tune in to 88.5 WXPN in Philly or stream it at starsend.org. There is something different about hearing it "in the moment" while the rest of the world is asleep.
- Support the Scene: These shows exist because of people like Tony. WXPN is listener-supported. If you find value in the 500+ hours of music Masiello has preserved, consider throwing a few bucks toward the station during their fund drives.
The story of Tony Masiello and Star's End is really a story about how one person’s obsession can preserve an entire culture. Without his tapes and his digital rips, decades of "disposable" radio history would have simply vanished into the ether. Instead, it's all there, waiting for you to hit play.