BiXX Bridges Uplifting and Tech Trance Alongside Mark Sherry and Sue McLaren on “Searchlight”
The American trance producer brings his signature melodic uplift into a harder-edged collaboration with tech trance heavyweight Mark Sherry and acclaimed vocalist Sue McLaren. American trance DJ and producer BiXX joins forces with Mark Sherry and Sue McLaren on “Searchlight,” arriving September 25, 2026 via Outburst Records
Pre-Save / Buy / Stream:
https://outburst.lnk.to/Searchlight
For BiXX, “Searchlight” brings together two sides of trance that have increasingly shaped his musical identity. Known for emotionally driven, uplifting productions, BiXX has also explored the harder edge of tech trance through what he describes as “techlifting”: a fusion of uplifting melody and hard-driving tech energy. That balance sits at the center of “Searchlight.” “Great melody, beautiful uplifting break and vocals, and hard-driving tech influences,” BiXX says. “Beauty and the beast.” The record grew out of BiXX’s ongoing creative relationship with Scottish producer Mark Sherry. Approximately once a year, BiXX travels to Scotland to work alongside Sherry in his studio, where their contrasting instincts have become an important part of their creative process. BiXX naturally pushes their productions toward the uplifting side of trance, while Sherry challenges him to venture further into the harder, technical territory that has become synonymous with his sound. Their friendship has created a foundation of trust that allows both producers to challenge one another throughout the process.
They have even developed their own studio signal for knowing when an idea has gone too far. If either makes a fingernails-scratching-a-chalkboard gesture, the other immediately understands that particular sound is not making the final track. The inside joke reflects the creative push and pull behind their work. Rather than one producer adapting entirely to the other, both bring their individual instincts to the production until the contrasting styles find common ground.
On “Searchlight,” Sherry contributes the hard-driving tech groove, power, detailed vocal placement, and call-and-response elements, while BiXX brings the emotional breakdown and uplifting melody he jokingly describes as a little “BiXX Beauty.”
Sue McLaren Completes the Picture
By the time Sue McLaren entered the project, BiXX and Sherry had already completed roughly 80 percent of the production. An uplifting royalty-free vocal had initially been used during the creative process, but the
producers felt something was still missing. Sherry’s team suggested bringing McLaren into the project, and according to BiXX, the identity of “Searchlight” changed significantly once her finished vocals arrived
Her soft, smooth delivery creates a deliberate contrast against the harder production surrounding it, while retaining the uplifting emotion at the center of the record. For BiXX, working with McLaren also carries a personal history. During his early years discovering and developing a love for trance, he listened to tracks featuring McLaren including “Perfect Storm,” “Nowhere Left to Hide,” and “Hands of Time.” Years later, in 2020, BiXX approached McLaren with a melody for a collaboration alongside Yoshi & Razner. Still relatively unknown at the time, he remembers being surprised when she agreed to work with him after connecting with the melody.
The resulting record, “Still We Rise,” went on to reach #1 on Beatport, beginning a creative relationship that now brings BiXX and McLaren together again on “Searchlight.
Three Distinct Identities, One Record
Despite the differences between their individual sounds, BiXX believes each artist’s identity remains recognizable throughout “Searchlight.” Sherry brings his signature tech trance groove and power alongside detailed vocal production
and call-and-response elements. McLaren delivers the soft, silky vocal performance and uplifting message, while BiXX contributes the melodic and emotional qualities at the heart of the breakdown.
The lyrics, written by Sue McLaren and Susie Ledge, also leave room for individual interpretation. For BiXX, the idea of a “searchlight” represents having someone in your life whom you trust: someone you can count on to watch over you and provide a sense of confidence and reassurance. That presence could be another person or, for some, a higher power.
That interpretation carries particular resonance within a collaboration built heavily on trust itself. BiXX’s relationship with Sherry first developed through Sherry’s mastering work. Impressed by his work ethic, BiXX formed a friendship with the producer before eventually asking him to help develop the harder tech trance side of his sound. Their work together has now resulted in two collaborations
His history with McLaren reaches back to an earlier stage of his career, when an artist he had listened to for years agreed to take a chance on one of his melodies. For BiXX, those relationships extend beyond the music. He describes building meaningful relationships as one of his primary motivations for being part of the music industry, making the process behind “Searchlight” as significant to him as the finished record.
BiXX Continues Expanding His Sound
BiXX, the artist project of American trance DJ and producer Bob Bickert, has built his sound around uplifting, melodic, and emotionally charged trance. His approach centers on transforming meaningful life experiences and inspirational messages into music, combining atmospheric breakdowns and melodic builds with high-energy drops. His catalog includes numerous Beatport Top 10 releases, including “Marvelous Universe,” “Flight of Life,” “Above the Clouds,” “Yes I Can,” “Purpose,” “After Dark,” and “Trance at the Opera,” among others. BiXX has also earned two Beatport #1 tracks with “Still We Rise” and “Victoria.”
Generating more than three million Spotify streams annually, BiXX continues to expand a body of work built around what has become a defining philosophy behind the project: music is the vehicle, inspiration is the message. “Searchlight” represents another extension of that sound, allowing BiXX to move into harder territory without abandoning the melodic and emotional qualities at the center of his music. For listeners familiar with his catalog, BiXX believes the first surprise may simply be seeing Mark Sherry and BiXX on the same track title. Once the record begins, however, the contrasting
identities become its defining feature: Sherry’s tech trance power meeting BiXX’s uplifting sensibilities, completed by what BiXX calls the “cherry on top” — Sue McLaren’s signature vocal.
Connect with BiXX
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bixxaudio/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4RiwBL7Ca5pV4qR7gRmEOh
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bixxaudio
Connect with Mark Sherry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marksherry/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mvBDVwojbFc7hmDIgoIHH
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marksherrydj
Connect with Sue McLaren
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suemclarenmusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7AzAtQ0LFRXazvHMDx620D
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/suemclaren
Mark Sherry, Sue McLaren & BiXX – “Searchlight”
Release Date: September 25, 2026
Pre-Save / Buy / Stream: https://outburst.lnk.to/Searchlight
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