When the third installment of Tiësto’s In Search of Sunrise (ISOS) compilations came out in 2002, I couldn’t wait to listen with my college bestie. Andrea and I went to underground raves every weekend and were leaving for Ibiza in 4 months. We’d seen Tiesto perform several times and he was one of my absolute FAVORITES, so it was a highly anticipated album for us.
As my car had the best speakers, we hopped in, popped the CD in, and went on a journey. Within the first ten minutes we were singing along to Josh Gabriel’s mix of Andain’s Summer Calling. Her voice matches the wistful lyrics, mourning the loss of a lover, like the loss of summer to the cold winds of fall.
It was no surprise that Solarstone’s Solarcoaster was featured on ISOS 3 as everyone was playing it back then. We heard it every weekend, so of course we said the lines along with Patricia Arquette… I mean, it is one of the most romantic moments in a movie and then Solarstone just went and immortalized it with beautiful trance.
More Gabriel & Dresden mix cuts and then Argonaut took us to church in the voice of a sermonizing pastor: “And the Bible says your body’s a temple, so LIVE!” Having grown up in a cult, my life had been filled with all kinds of spiritual services, many of which involved music and singing. So in some ways, my form of worship had simply changed music and added dancing. I was just attending a different type of church now and I sure was LIVING!
As we were headed back down I-5 toward Seattle, I heard the first couple measures of Paul Oakenfold’s Southern Sun. At that time, Oakenfold was still one of my favorite DJs and was one of few DJs who were also producers. Bunkka, the album this track came from was his first studio album and I loved it! A constant theme in my life is flying and the chorus of Southern Sun says “Cause it’s easier to fly than to face another day,” and I knew exactly what that felt like. So it was an instant favorite.
Way Out West’s number 1 UK Dance Chart favorite Mindcircus was the next one that stuck out. It was Gabriel & Dresden’s Mix of course, cause they had their hands in everything at that time. Mindcircus was the first time I heard Imogen Heap’s name and she went nowhere but up from there. Her voice singing about how much she wanted sleep and just couldn’t have it was another feeling I was intimately familiar with. For an insomniac, sleep is a lover who’s abandoned you and every moment without leaves you desiring their touch and presence. Imogen’s voice plaintively calling for some silence and space is unforgettable.
My one complaint about the whole thing was the ending. It just left more to be desired. Unlike most trance compilations and albums of the time, the final track by Jericho just didn’t tie it all up with a fancy bow. And maybe Tiësto did it on purpose? To leave us all hanging til ISOS 4? Who knows?!? Regardless, that CD didn’t leave my car for almost a year and I can still listen to the entire thing straight through. Though I love some of Tiësto’s other ISOS compilations, Panama, number three, is still my favorite.
