Illucid Dream

May 19 2024, Dream Journal:

I awoke to the sound of the radio playing quietly. I could hear a man speaking over classical music distorted and muffled through the old speakers and layers of drywal. For a second, I just listened. I lulled myself back into consciousness, slowly realizing I couldn't recal where the music was coming from - do I even own a radio? I layed in terror and listened to the broadcaster's muffled voice, unable to sever myself from my bed. "I WATCHED HIM RUNNING FROM THE STATION, ENGULFED IN CRIMSON FLAME. HIS HANDS WERE WRAPPED AROUND HIS EYES BUT DOING LITTLE TO SHIELD THE HEAT. I COULD HEAR HIS SCREAMS FROM THE RECORDING ROOM." With every word my world grew more and more uneasy. I was unable to feel still lying in my bed, so I stood to regain balance. This only made me dizzier as the room spun further and further away from my feet. "AND THE SOUNDS OF HIS SCREAMS WERE HEARD THROUGH THE MICROPHONE AND PUT TO BROADCAST. A BRIEF AUDIO SAMPLE WILL BE PLAYED NOW, BUT LISTENERS SHOULD BE ADVISED THIS MAY BE DISTURBING." With the classical music still playing in the background, the gut-churning scream was played. At first it was quiet, and then louder, and then louder. And then the classical music could hardly be heard at all as the scream engulfed all the noise I could hear. I stumbled for the door, clutching my fist around the handle. Behind it was only dark, a boundless pit of nothing. I stumbled in, falling deeper and deeper and deeper...

But what the heck is Illucid Dream?

Illucid Dream is a multi-genre radio show themed around the sounds of dreams and sleep. The idea originated from a playlist that I had made with just a lot of odds and ends from random albums that had barely any listens. There was an indescribable quality to these songs, and the fact that I was one of only a few thousand people to have heard them only made the feeling of enchantment grow. Then, in the middle of the night in a dream, everything clicked. Because a lot of the songs on the playlist were instrumentals, I had put it on to help me sleep. Inside my dream, I could hear the songs playing on a radio just outside of my room. Over the music I could hear strange voices telling stranger stories. When I woke up, I said out loud "holy shit I have a great idea for a radio show".

One of the main things that I want to distinguish Illucid Dream from other KJHK sets is pre-recorded interviews, poems, and short stories all centering around dreams. I love listening to the stories people try to piece together out of fragmented memories of dreams with unexplanable realities and uniquely beautiful quirks. I want get a lot of people who don't usually write creatively to write poems and short stories about a random dream they had and then read it aloud for the radio waves! I want it to be a sort of catalogue of the extraordinary places we all go when we sleep. Each set will be structured around 4-30 minute long section each with their own vibe. The first, "Bedtime Beats", would be the most energetic and mainly be experimental electronic music and breakbeats. Towards the end of this section I'll move into some jazzsier stuff to have a smooth transition to the next section "Daydream". This section will be where most of the pre-recorded elements are used. The part of the set will go between ambient songs with recordings over them and electronic and orchestral music that matches the vibe of the stories being told. Its mostly meant to be easy listening with a lot of upbeat and dreamy soundscapes. Next, the set transitions into "Nightmare" which has a much more oppresive mood. This start with a lot of loud metal-adjacent stuff while still being a little subdued. From there it'll go into heavy ambient music and some uneasy experimental soundscapes. I'll probably put a few more of the recordings towards the end of this part of the set. The final section is titled "Deep Sleep", which will feature the most ambient music. This is similar to the Daydream section in that it's mostly easy listening, but here it will be a lot more lo-fi and have a softer tone. I might put a few short recordings here, but it's mostly meant to actually be played while people are sleeping. And that's the show! A lot of electronic, a lot of jams, a lot of ambient, and a lot of weird. I hope you liked my idea, let me know if you have any suggestions and thank you for reading! :D

Example set: