In Search Of Sunrise 12 Review
Having sought the sun-up in Sin City last year, 2014 sees Richard Durand take the ‘Search’ in the opposite direction, to a place ever increasingly tagged “the Vegas of the East”. Forummember Zak Rush reviewed ISOS 12: Dubai for us.
CD 1 had a couple of good euphoric tracks from Kam Delight - Whatever You Like and Sean Tyas - Take A Moment and great vocals from Somna & Yang ft. Michele C - Chasing Stars and NoMosk & Roman Messer ft. Christina Novelli - Lost Soul but after the sixth track, it continued to disappoint with the same-sounding 'club bangers' as opposed to 'trance anthems'. Luckily CD 2 picks up the drive and delivers a stellar mix - so many different styles that reminded why I love Trance. I could understand if CD 1 was an introduction for non-Trance listeners to get into the 'big' tracks but CD2 is where I was consistently pleased. As the tempo increased over the 16 tracks, I hadn't even noticed the tempo change yet the tracks blended so well. As CD 3 starts, you notice the change - you can tell there will be some Progressive gems that are about to take you on a journey. I really hoped the other CDs would give me the feeling CD 3 did. There were no unexpected songs that brought the whole mix down but instead only kept the mix at a level I could confidently say was one of the best mixes I have heard in a long time.
CD 1
Starting with an OK Intro Mix from Richard Durand on Dubai Desert Fish, it picks up with an absolutely beautiful melody-driven track from Azotti ft. Bagga Bownz with Day and Night. The Savid Remix of Talamanca's Ocean Drive was really light and made you relax into the mix while still getting a good dose of Progressive melody. From here tracks seem to blend into one and not in a good way. The mix didn't change style for a while. I did like Kam Delights's Whatever You Like changing up things a little but luckily Sean Tyas with Take A Moment was the mid-mix pick-me-up that really saved it. I usually love Hazem Beltagui's stuff but his Remix of Rafaël Frost & Jennifer Rene with Higher was mediocre and brought the mix back down again, the dynamics were too sparse with no mid frequencies providing anything interesting after the drop. RAM picks it up with Epic, delivering a high-octane melody built to make you dance. Some Classic Trance from Ronny K & Ren with Come With Me that was really uplifting and emotional. Then Richard Durand's Sambuca was alright...once it dropped, it didn't keep me going, it lost it's drive after 4 bars - I look forward to remixes of that track though. Finally ending on Faruk Sabanci & James Dymond with Sphinx was a great ending. I can never fault Faruk Sabanci and think this track James Dymond was sharp and techy with its melody.
CD 2
The intro was different, from the man himself Richard Durand, offering up an Intro Mix of Atlantis which really set the scene for something new. Following that up Gai Barone's Eve was seemless, almost as if the track was written to progress from Atlantis. David Broaders Remix of Ruben de Ronde's Forever In Our Hearts is a great melodic piece before bringing back down to Moonbeam's sultry I Go On with Polina Griffiths. High 5 ft. Nanje Nowack with The Thousand Sun really lit up the mix. Aneym's high tones over the top of Adam Kancerski's Into The Light brought it up to an anthemic drop which unlike CD1, fit perfectly in the mix. Then came Sunny Lax Karma as the perfect mid-mix anthem. Cold Rush drops in with his signature Melodic Trance at Progressive tempos, remixing Imagination from Roman Messer ft. Ange. Driftmoon's The Inquisitor was interesting but didn't hold the mix as well as the previous four tracks had but it did set up the higher-tempo Trance with a melodic beauty from ReOrder with Beyond Horizon - can never seem to fault this guy. Elfsong's Seldarine really hammers home a perfectly-formed Progressive Trance sound with a drop that really drives the mix forward into classic melodic track from Amir Hussain & Allen Watts with Step Into My World. Finally finishing on Ferris & Morris with Amatoria was a genious choice with their soundscape style that resembles that of Andy Blueman.
CD 3
Starting with Danilo Ercole's Contact and effortlessly transitioning into Max Freegrant & Matrey with Hussar, it brings in the uplifting chord progression with a gritty bassline and an effective lead, bringing about the epitome of what Lange will offer in the rest of the mix. From there, it jumps straight into a classic remixed with Tiësto ft. Kirsty Hawkshaw with Just Be, remixed by Kris O'Neil. The track itself isn't massive; it doesn't look to be a bigroom anthem but all fans of the classic that is Just Be will still sing along and enjoy the fresh take. It had me bopping my head and reliving some great moments for what that track meant to me - and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one. Dimension's Verano followed with melodic chords, balaeric synths and vocal cuts sublimely melded into an almost relaxing moment. Johnny Yono's The Recluse hits the 'moody' spot with an epic melody which fits right into Andy Moor's Fade To Light. At this point, I looked at the timer to see that 20 minutes had gone by and couldn't wait for the rest. Future Disciple's Remix I of Bissen's Quantum wasn't particularly addictive as the previous tracks had been up to his point but this was saved with Michael Badal's Carnivale with its savvy melody, jumping about in all the right places. Tangle pounds in with Firebird, bendy synths and techy beats followed shortly by Lange & LNG with Hey! While The Sun Shines, reminding the listener that Lange has some beats and sounds of his own that fill out the middle of the mix with a solid number. Andy Duguid ft. Jaren with History really opened it up for me though. Andy's technical prowess has always impressed me and his melodies always compliment any vocalists he gets on board. A surprising vocal track followed from Ari Kyle & Audioscape ft. Simon Latham with Never Far. Male vocals have always had a habit of falling short, whoever sings them, with the select greats really shining through and diminishing the other attempts - Simon Latham really shines in the breakdown though and I'd say it is easily one of his best. A disppointing 'Progressive House' anthem-style from Anske with Vilnius but this quickly followed up with Bobina with Out Of Coverage - a very odd breakdown that is saved by the drop with a massive melody that resonated around my room with all of the signs of a future favourite. Anske follows up with a much better track called Dreamcatcher with dream-like synths, capturing a far clearer vision of his style. The mix picks up with a breakbeat remix of one of Lange's latest already-classic A Different Shade of Crazy from Lange vs. Refracture. Mateusz with Zeal follows with the same dirty bassline but a catchy melody before finally ending on David Gravell's Melbourne. This is the type of track that I would not have thought to end a mix. It's epic bigroom sounds annoyingly got me in the mood for so much more, as if it was building me up for another hour mix!
All in all, a great compilation.
I give this compilation 8/10 for its interesting track selection sequences.