December 21 is the longest night in the Northern hemisphere. It marks the start of Winter (even though it is also called "Midwinter"), but gradually the nights will slowly get shorter as to indicate spring will be coming, eventually. For the 2019 Winter Solstice, Dutch Radio station Concertzender Nederland (for which I compile the monthly DreamScenes series) programmed an 8-hour ambient music special from 23:00 until 07:00 (11pm to 7am). That's a good night's sleep for most people!The 8 hours of ambient were compiled by 4 radio-show producers: Roel Janssen, Harrold Roeland, Bob Rusche, and myself. My contribution was scheduled to close the night: from 05:00 to 07:00 (5am to 7am). For the context of this ambient night, I created a mix that is somewhat different from most Ambientblog.net mixes - after all, this was intended to be broadcast in the deepest hours of the darkest night of the year. So this one is more drone-oriented for the most part, slower, less 'dynamic' and less 'intense'. This is especially true for the first hour. It opens with Suzanne Vega performing one of the most beautiful lullabies ever written (from 1964's Mary Poppins), challenging you to 'stay awake' but at the same time making it virtually impossible to do so (especially at 5am). Followed by an hour of deep drone tracks that seem to stretch the time to (at least) three times its length. The first hour closes with a haunting track by Broeder Dieleman, a tribute to the dutch priest and sculptor Omer Gielliet. It is sung it the local Zeeuws dialect which loses some of its strength when translated - but the key phrase here roughly translates to: "first I drank from the tap but now I drink straight from the source." The second hour of this mix was the last hour of this 8-hour night. Even though it is still completely dark at 7am, it was my intention to slowly build up to awakening to a new day. The first half of this hour prolongs the sleepy drones, but Robert Henke's Studies of Thunder indicates the change from deep sleep to lighter sleep, slowly becoming aware of the surroundings again.The key track here is, of course, Fovea Hex' We Dream All The Dark Away in the beautifully floating remix from Abul Mogard. It's like coming back to life, letting the light back in slowly.There is no telling how many listeners made it through the entire radio-broadcast - awake, half-asleep, or sleeping. I don't assume many listeners made it to the end of this 8-hour broadcast in full awareness. I can only imagine how the dreams of those that fell asleep may have been guided by the music playing in the background. I am very proud to have contributed to this special night on Concertzender Nederland. Not many radio stations are brave enough to schedule an 8-hour ambient night. But I am also very proud to present my contribution here, on Ambientblog, for everyone to enjoy at their own preferred time.

Due to the nature of this mix, I suggest listening in the dark. (For those interested: surround versions of this mix are also available)

Stay awake, don't rest your headDon't lie down upon your bedWhile the moon drifts in the skiesStay awake, don't close your eyesThough the world is fast asleepThough your pillow's soft and deepYou're not sleepy as you seemStay awake, don't nod and dream

note: first time is start time, second time is fragment length

Days may come and days may goover that good horizon againAnd after we slide underwe dream our paradiseWe dream all the dark away

note: first time is start time, second time is fragment length

[Alternative location on Archive.org]

A surround version of this mix is also available from the Surround page.