Back in February Black Hole Recordings announced that ‘In Search of Sunrise’ - the holy grail of trance music compilations - would return in late spring/early summer of 2010. What followed, in the fraternity at large, was a period of intense, near-frenzied speculation. With Tiësto departed, who, you asked, would be taking over the ISOS reins?
The answer presents both a natural and instinctive progression for the legendary series…
First tipped by Tiësto, back in 2006, as an artist ready to break, Richard Durand has spent the last 4 years running on trance music’s fast-track. From the early days of his ‘Lethal Industry’ & ’Flight 643’ rebuilds, he has moved to become one of the most consistently dependable producers on the scene; crafting and shaping his own model sound & style. Parallel to that, his spinning career has graduated from that of ‘next big thing’ to that of headlining, all-club-conquering DJ - a passage that now sees him ranked as one of the 50 hottest spinners on the planet. Now, in this almost ceremonial passing of the baton, Richard has accepted the role as ‘In Search of Sunrise’s new master and commander.
So what should you expect from this, the 8th album in the 1.5 million selling series? Well some fundamentals will remain resolutely unchanged. Under Richard’s stewardship, ‘ISOS’ enduring mission to uncover the newest, hottest, most cutting-edge trance tracks from the furthest corners of the planet (far in advance of their release dates) will remain locked. The music we will all be clubbing-it to throughout the summer, in Ibiza and at festivals in all four corners will shortly be brought into the light for the first time.
Steering ISOS into a new decade, the album’s sound-approach though (naturally enough) will be all Durand. Richard’s free-thinking approach to electronic dance music - from the melodic trance plains right across the span to the bigger & bolder tech-side - will all be hard-coded into the twin discs’ DNA.
As with every album in the series, this edition’s roots grew in a specific country. Richard has played many, many of them over the last 12 months. The choice as to where to seek his first ‘Sunrise’ was - comparatively speaking - an easy one though. He goes on to explain: “I actually saw South Africa first from a vacation point of view; that, in itself, is quite unusual for an international DJ. When I returned I spoke to my agent, told him what an incredible place it was and how much I’d like to experience the country from a clubbing side. Gigs were arranged and gigs were played and – simply put - I was blown away for a second time. The scene there is so fresh so open-minded and still is rapidly expanding; it almost made the choice for me!”
