LISTEN! IN SEARCH OF SUNRISE 19 – MIXED BY MARKUS SCHULZ, ILAN BLUESTONE & DANIEL WANROOY

EDM reviews November 21, 2023

Pre-order/bookmark here: blackhole.lnk.to/isos-19

Well … something’s different …. It’s not the name and it’s certainly not ‘In Search Of Sunrise’s to-the-core musical nature! DJs? Well, it’s an ever-evolving cast, so that’s a given. Ah, but of course … it’s the date! Sunrise is a three-six-five affair and while the esteemed series has done summers a-plenty and once dipped its toe into autumn, this is the first modern era ‘ISOS’ that’s sought a winter’s dawn. Launched by Tiësto in 1999 and subsequently helmed by Richard Durand and most recently Markus Schulz, the series is now within touching distance of its milestone twentieth. Its third phase has been defined by a pronounced dynamic between its DJs. In Markus Schulz, you have your lynchpin, and then in close support genre progressives like Jerome Isma-Ae, Kryder, Gabriel & Dresden & last year Matt Fax, and classists including Kyau & Albert, Sunlounger, Andy Moor & Orkidea.

‘Sunrise’s dynamic is completed in 2023 by arch-Anjuna-ist Ilan Bluestone, and Daniel Wanrooy – a man who’s recording career reaches almost as far back as ‘ISOS’ itself. Alongside Markus, they’ve picked up the mix-mantle and auditioned tunes by the hundred, all the while asking themselves but one question: ‘… is it Sunrise?’

Pre-order/bookmark here: blackhole.lnk.to/isos-19 As ever, that quest starts in their own backyards, with the three bringing much radiance from their respective studios. There’s been a fair degree of crate digging too, looking for inspirational deeper-cut tracks to melodically and harmonically remix into ‘Sunrise’s realm. The trio have also screened the latest from kindred studio spirits, all of which has been peerlessly mixed into three-hours and forty minutes of epic, atmospheric, day-breaking music.

When it comes to those post-peak clubbing hours, Markus Schulz has proved to be a masterful sun-up soundtracker. His sixth Search features plenty of his own Coldharbour brew, including ‘Rabbit Hole’ Circus material like the x Sarah Warren ‘Light On’ and (in its new In Search of Sunrise Remix form), the HALIENE-voiced ‘Death Of A Star.’ There’s also first-listen Schulz material receiving their premieres, including the majestic likes of ‘Summer Of ‘99’, ‘Forgotten Element’ and (new Daxson link-up) ‘Reverence’. Around those are a veritable wealth of new sonic treasure from operators including Matt Fax, KhoMha, Estiva & Mike EFEX. Anjuna-to-the-max, it’ll surprise few to learn that Ilan Bluestone’s disc is ripe with produce from that particular quarter. Amongst those are Sunny Lax’s ‘Cerasus’, Boom Jinx, Nitrous Oxide & Einar K team-up ‘Breathing’ and the Elysian trio’s ‘Light Years’ and ‘Sparks In The Night’. Ilan’s also been in the ISOS remix swing, delivering treatments of Above & Beyond’s ‘Diving Out Of Love’ & ‘Northern Soul’, as well as Chicane’s ‘Saltwater. You’ll also find his recent collabs with Oliver Smith (‘Blue Eagle’) and Giuseppe Ottaviani (‘Futuro’). And speaking of A&B, their ‘Spin Off’ from ‘Tranquillity Base Vol.1’ also plays a key part to his mix, as does Maor Levi’s reworking of Tiësto’s In My Memory’.

And if all that doesn’t leave you feeling those first rays on your face, Daniel Wanrooy’s disc is here to make absolutely certain of it! He intros with his floor-fresh JES team-up, ‘We’ll Be Together’, before channelling even more of that ISOS vibe with his x BLR collab ‘Cielo’, and solo tracks ‘Terra Incognito’ and ‘How Will I Know’. Further in are the latest from some other classic ‘Sunrise’ contributors, with Mark Norman, Jonas Steur and Cor Fijneman respectively supplying it ‘So it Begins’, ‘Solis’ and ‘In Domo’. At the crest off Disc 3, Daniel touches the sun with some killer remixes of Kamaya Painters ‘Far From Over’ and ‘Falling Back To You’ from Delerium.

Has ‘Sunrise 19’s moodier art-aesthetic and winter release spot brought an even cooler collection to your door!? Well, that’ll require a Search of your own! Here’s where to begin: blackhole.lnk.to/isos-19 Tracklist:

Mix 1 – Markus Schulz

01. Markus Schulz & Sarah de Warren – Light On 02.Markus Schulz – Summer Of ‘99 03. Matt Fax – Beyond Belief 04. KhoMha – Ancient Voices 05. Jerome Isma-Ae & Alastor – String of Lights 06. Markus Schulz & Daxson – Reverence 07. Late Night Alumni – Beautiful (Myon x Hoten Remix) 08. Tim Besamusca – Neptunia (Club Mix) 09. ReDub – Utopia 10. Andain – Beautiful Things (Mike EFEX Remix) 11. Sunbeam – Outside World (Bart Skils & Weska Remix) 12. Thomas Lizzara – Traveller (Thomas Lizzara Techno Remix) 13. Estiva – Via Infinita 14. Victor Ruiz – Pura Vida 15. Markus Schulz – Forgotten Element 16. Daxson – When Tomorrow Comes 17. Robert Nickson – Sundown (Stoneface & Terminal Remix) 18. Markus Schulz & HALIENE – Death of a Star (Markus Schulz In Search of Sunrise Remix)

Mix 2 – Ilan Bluestone

01. Bonnie x Clyde – Another You (Ilan Bluestone Remix 02.Tiësto featuring Nicola Hitchcock – In My Memory (Maor Levi Remix) 03. Adam Stark – Sciya 04. Chicane featuring Moya Brennan – Saltwater (Ilan Bluestone Remix) 05. Jonas Steur – Second Turn (Adam Stark Remix) 06. Sunny Lax – Cerasus 07. Ilan Bluestone – On Me 08. Boom Jinx & Nitrous Oxide & Einar K featuring Vintage & Morelli – Breathing 09. Above & Beyond – Diving Out Of Love (Ilan Bluestone Remix) 10. Ilan Bluestone & Oliver Smith – Blue Eagle 11. Elysian – Light Years (Club Mix) 12. Nourey & FOSTER – Meant To Be 13. Above & Beyond – Spin Off 14. Giuseppe Ottaviani & Ilan Bluestone – Futuro 15. Tom Fall – Guiding Light 16. Elysian – Sparks In The Night 17. Above & Beyond featuring Richard Bedford – Northern Soul (Ilan Bluestone Remix)

Mix 3 – Daniel Wanrooy

01. Daniel Wanrooy & JES – We’ll Be Together (Intro Mix) 02.BLR & Daniel Wanrooy – Cielo 03. Nutland & BL_NK featuring Rienk – Frozen Inside 04. Mark van Rijswijk – Laguna 05. Truetone – Losing Control 06. Mark Norman – So it Begins 07. Sherano & Amber Revival – Hit and Run 08. Daniel Wanrooy – Terra Incognita 09. Re:Locate & Simon Anthony – Ready 10. Jonas Steur – Solis (Estuera Mix) 11. Cor Fijneman – In Domo 12. Golden Sky – Forever (Aerofoil emix) 13. Daniel Wanrooy – How Will I Know 14. Tim Besamusca – Galaxy 15. Kamaya Painters – Far From Over (Daniel Wanrooy Remix) 16. JPL – In Our Youth 17. Delerium featuring Mimi Page – Falling Back To You (Daniel Wanrooy Remix) 18. Fonzerelli – Floating Through Time