Midnight Clear is a special, even unusual album; a holiday album – in the widest sense. Some people may ask; 'Vollenweider is doing a Christmas album?’ He is known for to be a very free spirit when it comes to religion as well as politics. Andreas explains: "Although I opened our musical world for the first time to traditional and 'external' musical elements, this album is dedicated to the message of love, peace, hope and compassion, in the very same way as all my previous works are. For thousands of years, in all the cultures of the world, this message, wherever it came from, has been the most powerful source of strength and motivation to lay hands on the earth and do our part, in the liberation of the good in ourselves. As we all realize these days, this struggle has not lost any of its profound relevance. Religions have played, and still do, a highly controversial role in the history of our civilizations. Besides essential contributions to education, healthcare and social development, the religious institutions have, over thousands of years, also been responsible for a violently blasphemous abuse of power beyond imagination. This could be, and is for many people, reason enough for a fundamental rejection of religion in general. But it is high time to finally acknowledge, that we are by our nature profoundly spiritual beings, whether we like it or not. We will always be magnetically attracted by the miraculous. We will always have countless questions that our intellectua