Church of Trance

FEATURING THE MUSIC OF BT ,  ROBERT NICKSON, STANDERWICK, DOSEM, BLR, MONOCOC ,  KAUFMANN DE, WESKA, AERIDAN, SOLID GLOVE   AND MARKUS SCHULZ PRESENTS DAKOTA For more than two decades, ‘In Search of Sunrise’ has been the portal through which dance music’s most immersive states of mind have been explored. A series that’s always thrived on the magic of transition, forever tuned to the shift between memory and motion. With the 21 st  edition of the series, Markus Schulz has reimagined that legacy as a summer-spanning trilogy for a new generation of Dreamers, with each mix a chapter, forming part of its broader musical story. Having already brought names like  London Grammar, Sasha, Deep Dish, Hernan Cattaneo and Röyksopp  to the  ‘ISOS’  fold for the first time, they’ve been joined by  Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, Cosmic Gate, Estiva, Kyau & Albert  and many, many other luminaries besides. Where The Awakening cruised through sun...

  FEATURING THE MUSIC OF LONDON GRAMMAR, SASHA, DEEP DISH, PAUL OAKENFOLD & HERNAN CATTANEO, COSMIC GATE, ESTIVA, KOROLOVA, JEROME ISMA-AE AND MARKUS SCHULZ PRES. DAKOTA An emotional expedition toward tomorrow, unfolding in three chapters across the summer of 2025. It’s not just a compilation. It’s a reimagination. For over two decades, In Search of Sunrise has been more than a series, it’s been a sanctuary for sonic wanderers; a space where emotion, beauty, and transcendence meet under one sky. Now, as the next chapter begins, Markus Schulz steps fully into the role of creative guide, evolving the series into something not just reflective, but visionary. “The world has changed. So has the music. But the need to escape, to dream, and to feel—that remains,” Markus says. “And that’s what this next era of In Search of Sunrise is about: building a bridge from nostalgia into a future worth believing in.” For the first time ever, In Search of Sunrise will roll out as three s...

FEATURING LEGENDARY PRODUCTIONS FROM LUMINARIES INCLUDING DELERIUM, MARKUS SCHULZ, BT, JES, RABBIT IN THE MOON, SANDRA COLLINS, DEEPSKY, NEIL KOLO & CHRIS FORTIER’S FADE, CONJURE ONE & MANY OTHERS! After previous stop-offs in The Netherlands, Germany, The UK and Belgium, May 2025 finds  ‘Hypnotised’ - the country-by-country-hopping history of trance music - reaching  American shores . There it explores one of the genre’s lesser told yet equally fascinating tales. The fifth album in the series is again compiled by  Arjan Rietveld,  author of its encyclopaedic companion book,  Hypnotised: A Journey Through Trance Music 1990 – 2005 . To a significant extent, the American trance scene evolved inside its own bubble. Ocean-crossing breakout acts were rare, which gave the scene space to develop a distinct sound and identity – one that was driving yet linear, progressive, more tribal, and less focused on the melodic elements that dominated the European la...

Chapter 1 - In the Beginning Hi! My name is Brando, and I make cool things awesome! I like to do various things with computers, and I love Trance Music. Currently I live in a town called Bon Temps in the beautiful southern state of Louisiana, just down I-20 from Shreveport. Unfortunately for me, Louisiana doesn’t have Trance, and that has been the source of much sadness in my life. To remedy that emptiness, I found my refuge in Cyberspace. YouTube and Twitch were places where Trance was thriving, and I was able to meet wonderful humans from everywhere around the world. I have made so many real friends that I’ve never even met IRL. It’s so great. I could travel the globe and never have to get a hotel room since I know enough good people whose couches I could sleep on. The internet is simply miraculous. What a time to be alive! So… I did the online DJ thing a bit, and I also made what I like to call Trance Movies. Those are DJ sets with dope visuals added to each song to create a full Au...

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 10 th  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...