Markus Schulz - In Search Of Sunrise 20

This month sees the landmark six-disc/six-DJ ‘In Search Of Sunrise 20’ hit shelves and stores. At the rate of one a week, Black Hole have been unveiling the masterful DJs equal to this momentous mixing task! We’re talking to them about what they’ve got onboard, their ‘ISOS 20’ approach and to see what the series has meant to them over the longer duration. After the announcement of Solarstone, Airscape, Super8 & Tab and York, ZOYA became the fifth last week. Another seven days on and the final spinner to add their name to the ISOS 20 honour role will be a surprise to no one and delight to all! This is Markus Schulz’s seventh showing, putting him equal with Tiësto in their number of ‘Searches’, so let’s get his full ISOS story!

Kicking off, Markus, what was the first ‘In Search of Sunrise’ album you either heard or bought?
“It actually would have been the first one. I had just moved to London at the time and had gone to an HMV store to browse their latest vinyl, and they had In Search of Sunrise marked as an import CD in the dance section. I was drawn to it because I was already familiar with special tracks like BT’s ‘Mercury and Solace’ and Ferry Corsten’s remix of ‘Anomaly (Calling Your Name)’, so decided to buy it for listening to in my flat.”

Looking back across their tracklists, what is your personal favourite piece of music that’s been compiled onto an ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ album?
“It would have to be the original Cass & Slide version of ‘Perception’, featured on ‘In Search of Sunrise 2’. I always say it’s the one track I wish I could have originally created, and obviously I had the privilege of making a cover version with Justine Suissa many years afterwards.

But there have been so many, and I think it demonstrates the strength of the series and how dearly people care about it across the past 25 years. Even certain transitions have had that wow factor. I go back to ‘In Search of Sunrise 5’ where Pink Elephant’s ‘LAX’ blended into Alex Stealthy’s ‘Something is Wrong’. Wonderful theatre of the mind, that.“

The music of In Search Of Sunrise’ is perhaps renowned for having both a ‘sound’ and a ‘feel’. How would Markus Schulz encapsulate that in three words or phrases?
“Emotion, journey and art. I think the most important thing is how your mind and soul interprets the phrase “In Search of Sunrise”. What does it mean? What do you see around you? What feelings do you have of going through the darkness of night into the hazy glow of morning? The beauty of music is that melodies can emotionally move you, even if you don’t expect it. And on the DJ side, there is an artform to it. Each transition and each progression to create the journey has to matter.”

Never a truer word spoken! Do you feel there’s a track on your mix that summarises that best?
“It’s very difficult to choose one, and the reason why is because you need all these individual pieces to be greater than the sum of their parts. If you take one out, the journey doesn’t become the same.”

Releases in the series have regularly been associated with places on the planet. Which country, city or place particularly comes to mind when you’re thinking ‘In Search Of Sunrise’?
“I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled the world and been to so many countries worldwide, and the beauty is that if you are lucky to see a sunrise, it feels unique to every setting. I guess many people would associate sunrise with Ibiza, especially because it reflects so well on a bed of water.” 

Love it! Now, compiling an ISOS disc is a notoriously rigorous business and one you’ve prepared for a good few times now. Do you have a specific approach for this, or do you just take each one as it comes?
“I think when you’ve been involved with In Search of Sunrise as long as I have, one project tends to blend into another. You are always on the lookout for those goosebump-inducing tracks, and you sometimes only discover them a week or two after wrapping up the In Search of Sunrise project for a particular year. The process for ‘In Search of Sunrise 20’ was slightly different, knowing that it was a milestone edition and it would also mark the 25th anniversary of the first one, so the first piece of work was studying the entire history of the series and creating a wishlist of tracks to highlight and possibly remix.”

Fantastic! Now how long did this particular process take, start through finish?
“The research with the history of the series began just after ADE last year. I spent a lot of time around Christmas and some downtime in January listening to every mix again to be sure of the tracks I wanted to include for the 20th. 

It was an exhaustive process, to be honest, because you can run into difficulties of ownership on publishing rights. You might have your heart set on including a particular track, or remixing a track, but you have to have the flexibility of high quality alternatives if they are needed.

I feel nowadays the standard for mix compilations has to be higher than ever before. It goes far beyond just a mix compilation now. It’s A&Ring demos, providing feedback on demos and remixes, and getting your own worktools out to mould tracks to fit how you want them. All in all, if I was to put a timeframe on it, I’d say the process lasted 10 months.“

Yourself aside perhaps, was there one classic ISOS-associated artist that you were particularly keen to have on your ‘20’ disc?
“One of the beauties I have found in being involved with In Search of Sunrise is that you have the opportunity to revisit songs that for whatever reason didn’t feature on previous editions. This was again part of my mindset with the 20th edition. 

Regular followers of me will know that one of the most cherished tracks in my playlist history and on Global DJ Broadcast was ‘Opera of Northern Ocean’ by the incredible Rex Mundi. It was one of those tracks that didn’t filter into every DJ box but was one that has a deep resonance to my fanbase. So, to have that revived in a real classy way by Mike EFEX was great.

In terms of people who were previously featured, I think there’s a special fondness for anything Anita Kelsey sang on; and her big ISOS connection was the original version of ‘Falling’ with First State. That was one that immediately jumped out when researching that I wanted in the 20th edition as a priority; and thankful that Dave Neven did a wonderful job on the remix.“

There’s some new/recent Dakota material on your mix. After ‘Odyssey To The Netherworld’, does that signal a new album in the offing?
“Not at the moment. ‘Stereo 11 AM’ was made as a one-off and began life as a dedicated exclusive to my solo sets at that historic venue in Montreal. The uniqueness of it is that ‘11 AM at Stereo’ is the beginning of the final hour of a 12 hour set there, because I usually go from midnight to noon. 

When people first heard it there, it felt like an appropriate sound that connected with them; and that elevated when they found out it was dedicated to the club and the city. Those feelings carry with me anywhere else in the world I play it, and it was something I felt was important to be enshrined into the ISOS platform this year.“

Your ’In Search of Sunrise Remix of Who.Is – ‘We.Are’ is one of the many standouts. What prompted you to call back to that beauty in particular?
“I remember how momentous the transition of stewardship for In Search of Sunrise was from Tiesto to Richard Durand. He must have been under so much pressure and expectation because of the legacy Tiesto had created with the series. I remember at the time that We.Are was a big exclusive for his mix, and also marked the beginning of this exciting alias between Raz Nitzan and Bart Claessen.

Raz and I go back a very long way, and even though they only made three tracks under the alias, I still play all of them in my livesets today. Not only that, not one of them had ever been remixed. So, I wanted something from ISOS 8 to signify Richard’s contribution, but also to bring a truly outstanding track into a new generation. 

I’m very grateful to have had Raz’s blessing to give the remix the go-ahead, and wanted to do something that maintained the soul of the original.“

That’s a fantastic story. Nothing but love for that. Now, Hydra’s ‘Affinity’ is one of the rarest-of-rare occasions where you’ve used a track for a second time on an ‘In Search of Sunrise’. Does it hold a special place for you or is it just more ‘ISOS’ than the rest !?
“It’s such a special track and melody, and I think it has emotionally resonated for me more and more, through playing it during the various In Search of Sunrise themed sets I’ve done at the likes of Dreamstate and the Luminosity Beach Festival. 

I guess you can say it’s a little callback to the first In Search of Sunrise I was privileged to mix - the 14th edition. The version on ISOS 20 is actually a reconstruction I did, with an extra bassline and pads to give it that little more drive.“

Your ISOS mix of Accadia’s ‘Into the Dawn’ is the final track on your In Search of Sunrise mix - a great fit in both tune and title! Is this a remix of your original 2019 rework, or is there another story behind that?
“It is. The first version was only meant to be an exclusive for my livesets. I think it was possibly made spontaneously for one of the New Year’s Eve shows at Avalon in Los Angeles. But it was reflective of the sound at the time, with aggressive bassline and percussion.

It’s a track I always felt befitting of an In Search of Sunrise berth somewhere, so when the guys at Lost Language were so kind to give their blessing to allow a remix to be included, I went in with the task of carving it to be a big emotional finale for the journey.“

And one you succeeded in to the nth degree! Now million-dollar final question: what’s the best Sunrise Markus Schulz ever found !?
“One that sticks in my mind was when I was booked to play in Buenos Aires, as part of Argentina’s Bicentennial celebrations. But getting there was one of the scariest experiences in my life. I was on a flight from Madrid and it was the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced on a plane, and I started doubting whether we would even see dry land. I felt like kissing the ground after landing. 

But going from there to the venue, it was one of those nights where I was scheduled to play for a couple of hours but wound up playing for around six. I remember leaving the venue and going to the hotel which was up on the side of a hill. It was winter so daybreak was a little later, but that morning had the most breathtaking sunrise and scenery. It’s one that has always remained with me to this day.“

Wonderful story! Thanks so much Markus and all the best with ‘ISOS 20’ and for the series’ future!