Next month, Black Hole Recordings will release the second album in the career of the Belfast producer, a body of work that largely brings together the remarkable musical journey that kept us vibrating throughout 2025
There are artists who do not like to constantly put themselves on display or stay in the spotlight, yet their music consistently maintains the highest standards, giving listeners the certainty of quality and emotional continuity. Ciaran McAuley is essentially this: a producer who has made uplifting trance the backbone of every project, skilfully linking it with all kinds of collaborations while always achieving the same magnificent result.
Finding Me is a truly long-awaited release; it is the outcome of a 2025 in which Ciaran managed to deliver no fewer than ten musical releases, each defined by a different creative approach, placing the artist among the most prolific of the past year.
Exactly one year ago, with The Party, an original track by Shelby Merry, the Irish producer made a key contribution to the successful trance reinterpretation of a remake, a type of project that is particularly appealing in today’s landscape. You’re Enough, written together with Christian Burns, subsequently highlights his finest musical vision, balancing melodies and pure trance-driven builds. These qualities return in Stay, sung by Zara Taylor, albeit with a more progressive rhythm. Finding You stands instead as the clearest example of uplifting qualities blended between McAuley and Amos & Riot Night.
One of the most anticipated and appreciated releases from the Irish artist last year was Not Letting You Go, created in collaboration with Roger Shah and Sue McLaren; a track that perfectly fuses the native styles of the two producers. The album also features Nicholas Gunn with Hurricane, a refined contribution enhanced by his unmistakable use of the flute and the powerful voice of Audrey Gallagher.
Ciaran McAuley and Brittany Egbert have also composed I’ll Be Waiting For You, showcasing a downtempo trance approach that is fully melodic. Runaway, alongside Sean Tyas and Clara Yates, marked last summer as one of the most listened-to and engaging tracks in this collection, where the shared trance philosophy of two like-minded artists truly made people dance. With Fool’s Gold, enriched by the voice of Sarah Howells, and Why Do We Hide, produced in collaboration with Deirdre McLaughlin, Ciaran McAuley brought his 2025 discography to a close. Two tracks that confirm a coherent genre, once again built around the importance of vocals, the impact of the beat, and melodic construction; elements that have defined the entire development of the album.
These ten releases tell the story of an extraordinary artistic contribution: Finding Me will bring together some of the finest voices in the global trance scene.
Yet this is far from the end, as the album will also include four brand-new tracks. The first of these will be released on January 23 and will see the return of Paul van Dyk, following Someone Like You from 2023. The pioneer contributed to the creation of When I Find You; the track anticipates the release of the full project and arguably becomes its most fascinating production, where McAuley’s musical vision meets the current philosophy of the German artist, blending soaring sounds with tech-driven builds.
Zara Taylor contributes once again on the track that shares the album’s title, produced together with the duo Aurosonic; this track stands as a progressive vocal manifesto and perfectly introduces the album, while Chloe lends her voice to shape the sound of Alone.
The final unreleased track is one that particularly impressed us: titled The Road Less Traveller, it was composed together with Ferry Tayle. The French producer, who has been on a steady rise recently, joins forces with McAuley in a collaboration where their combined imagination results in a deeply emotional uplifting trance track. We are confident it will be released as a future single.
Ciaran McAuley arrives at the creation of this album after a long wait, taking his time and refusing to chase any trend, embracing a vision of trance music that remains stable, solid, and above all, deeply loved.
You can pre-order the release on Beatport