INCLUDING MUSIC FROM ARMIN, ABOVE & BEYOND, COSMIC GATE, GIUSEPPE OTTAVIANI, FERRY CORSTEN, ILAN BLUESTONE, PUSH, GABRIEL & DRESDEN, CHICANE AND MANY, MANY MORE.
So here we are … and here it is. 25 years after the first took the mix comp scene by storm and set a new high bar in the process, we’ve arrived at the twentieth ‘In Search Of Sunrise’. For a landmark occasion this momentous, an exceptional edition was required, and with a six-mix/disc/DJ odyssey, that’s exactly what series guardians Black Hole Recordings have delivered.
Before all that though, a little history! With the millennium on the then horizon, October the 10th 1999 saw DJ Tiësto’s first ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ touch down into a glowing comp climate. Already trailing heat through his previous series (‘Magik’), anticipation was way high. However, its reception outmatched even Tiësto and Black Hole’s expectations, with the Dutchman mixing seven in total, before parting creative ways with the series.
ISOS returned in 2010 under the stewardship of one-time Tiësto protegee Richard Durand, who delivered six editions and introduced co-mixing to its dynamic. Having ‘visited’ India, South Africa and his native Amsterdam, sounds diverged once again and Richard departed the series in 2015, at which point it went on a well-earned three-year hiatus.
Doing away with the city/country hopping, but retaining the co-mixing dynamic, Markus Schulz became ‘Sunrise’s new standard-bearer in 2018. It’s a position he retains to this day, with ‘In Search Of Sunrise 20’ marking his 7th (Tiësto-equalling) outing. That DJ democracy has since allowed many other co-spinners to leave their ‘ISOS’ mark, Gabriel & Dresden, Andy Moor, Jerome Isma-Ae, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Kyau & Albert and Ilan Bluestone among them.
That brings us then to where ISOS stands in the late summer of 2024, when Black Hole revealed their plans for the 20th ‘Search’. Solarstone became the first of the six mixers unveiled, with Johan Gielen’s Airscape, Super8 & Tab, York, ZOYA and (naturally!) Markus followed in weekly succession.
Highest highs amongst its 100+ track highlights then!? Well, that’s a tough one, so maybe better to pinpoint some of the extraordinary legacy moments its six mixes touch on. York beginning his mix with his ‘Reachers Of Civilisation’ … as Tiësto did 25 years before him!? Unquestionably classy! Or indeed finishing with ‘Farewell to the Moon’ – possibly the most ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ title of all time!? Markus seeing out his disc with his ‘lost’ 2019 ISOS remix of Accadia’s undulating ‘Into the Dawn’ – would be another. And who could resist Solarstone calling back ‘Solarcoaster’, or Super8 & DJ Tab, ‘Helsinki Scorchin’ – prime movers in the ‘003 – Panama’ and ‘004 – Latin America’ editions!? Or Markus and ZOYA’s nods to Chicane, perhaps the most ISOS-embodying producer there is!? We could go on … (and on!) but at its core, ‘In Search Of Sunrise 20’ amounts to 6 DJs, 100+ tracks, 450+ musical minutes and 25 years of electronic music history, all celebrated through one milestone release.
The album is available to order now as a six-disc-boxset, six-mix digital release, triple-vinyl, and through all good streaming channels.
