Continuing his solo helm of the ‘In Search of Sunrise’ series, Markus Schulz delivers another summer-long odyssey, traversing the full spectrum of emotionally-charged trance and progressively-oriented electronic music. As brilliantly, exactingly and seamlessly mixed as ever, in its fullness, it’ll encompass 50+ of the finest sonics 2026 has on offer.
For now though, as summer mainlines Markus gear shifts from ‘The Awakening’, elevating ‘ISOS 22’ higher … to ‘Nirvana’.
Tip to toe, ‘Nirvana’ flows with expressive harmonics, vivid textures and that all abiding trance pressure. A soundtrack to nights that stretch beyond the clock, to moments when melody and rhythm become one, all fused by ‘In Search of Sunrise’s unique sense of musical discovery.
For it Markus has built an artistic coalition that features established acts and neophytes alike. Music from Giuseppe Ottaviani, HI-LO, Kryder, Kyau & Albert and Daniel Wanrooy brush shoulders with newer names: Dream A Lot, Arctic Barbers, Nemke, and Aeridan to mention but a few.
Markus’s paradisical ‘A Place Where We Are One’ (a co-op alongside Dream A Lot duo Gus Crawford Collins and Kim Hayden) plants an early vocal flag in the mix. It’s followed by a wealth of exclusive, never-before-heard Markus originals, included amongst them, the cursive tempestuousness of ‘Love in Every Tense’. Naturally, the music of Markus’s Coldharbourites also abounds throughout, with KhoMha supplying the exclusive ‘Ananke’ and ALAT collab’ing with Markus on ‘Flashpoint’. Mike EFX, a regular presence in the ISOS series through his reworks Andain’s ‘Beautiful Things’, Rex Mundi’s ‘Opera of Northern Ocean’ and others, puts his stamp on the 2005 classic ‘First State’ (in turn marking First State’s own debut in the series). Particularly poignant is ‘A Breath to Hold’, Nirvana’s lump-in-the-throat kiss-off track, which features two major Coldharbour pillars, Elevation and Daxson, and carries great personal emotional weight for the latter following his surgery earlier this year.
As is his prescribed form, Markus has also been under the hood of a number of ‘Nirvana’s number, giving them that extra lick of ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ paint. ‘Burned’ from Daniel Wanrooy, Kryder’s ‘Pulse of Hearts’ and ‘Halo’ from Kyau & Albert have all received that more melodic/harmonic ‘ISOS’ aftereffect.
Reflecting on the mix, Markus says: “For me, the heart of ‘In Search of Sunrise’ has always been the emotion in the music. There are melodies that become connected to a certain place, a person, or a moment in your life, and years later you can hear them again and suddenly those feelings come back.
That connection is one of the reasons why ‘In Search of Sunrise’ has and continues to mean so much to people. This mix in particular allowed me to explore that feeling very deeply, with melodies and moments that I hope will create those same kinds of memories for people.”
Continuing the 2026 journey, ‘In Search of Sunrise 22 – Nirvana: For The Next Generation Of Dreamers arrives Aug 28. You can pre-order/bookmark ‘In Search of Sunrise 22’ here. [isos.lnk.to/isos22]
Tracklist: In Search of Sunrise 22 – Nirvana: For The Next Generation Of Dreamers
01. Aeridan – Between Moon and Morning
02. Markus Schulz & Dream A Lot – A Place Where We Are One
03. Giuseppe Ottaviani & Billy Gillies – Doves (In Search Of Sunrise Mix)
04. KhoMha – Ananke
05. Arctic Barbers – New Dawn
06. Markus Schulz – Second Tomorrow
07. Basil O’Glue – Ask What You Can Do
08. HI-LO – REESE
09. Daniel Wanrooy – Burned (Markus Schulz In Search Of Sunrise Rework)
10. Kryder – Pulse of Hearts (Markus Schulz In Search Of Sunrise Rework)
11. Markus Schulz & Ciaran McAuley – Love in Every Tense
12. Kyau & Albert – Halo (Markus Schulz In Search Of Sunrise Rework)
13. First State – First State (Mike EFEX Remix)
14. Nemke – Stampedo
15. Markus Schulz & ALAT – Flashpoint
16. The Quest – Round Trip
17. Stoneface & Terminal – In Your Arms
18. Markus Schulz & Daxson & Elevation – A Breath to Hold
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