- Darude
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Darude 
Background information Birth name Ville Virtanen Born July 17, 1975 Origin Finland Genres Trance, hard trance, house Occupations Record producer, DJ Years active 1999–present Labels Helsinki Music Company (Finland), Robbins Entertainment (U.S.), Magic Records (Poland) Website darude.com Ville Virtanen (born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude is a trance producer and DJ from Eura, Hinnerjoki, Finland. Debuting in 1995, he released the hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999 and subsequent album Before the Storm. His music is characterized by its progressive/uplifting style.
Contents
Biography
Beginnings
Virtanen started his career as an amateur musician while in high school, making music using his PC's tracker software. As his interest in music production rapidly grew, he moved on to more serious production techniques.
While at a classmate's party, Virtanen played the song "Rude Boy" (written by Swedish artist Leila K) four times. This earned him the nickname "Rude Boy," which gradually morphed into "Da Rude", which in turn inspired the name "Darude".[1]
Virtanen continued producing music while in technical school, occasionally releasing demos to radio stations beginning in 1997, and offering his music for download on MP3.com. In 1999, he gave a demo for "Sandstorm" to his producer, JS16 (Jaakko Salovaara). Virtanen signed on with JS16's 16 Inch Records label, and shortly thereafter, "Sandstorm" was released as a single.[2]
Early career
Darude performing in El Salvador in 2004
"Sandstorm" was a smash hit #3 in Finland and UK, selling platinum and holding the #1 spot on the Finnish Dance Chart for seventeen consecutive weeks. Word quickly spread about the track, which found global success. After becoming the #3 single in the United Kingdom[3] (becoming the first record by a Finnish artist to do so), "Sandstorm" eventually sold 2 million units worldwide, and was the world's biggest selling 12-inch single in 2000.[4]
Shortly thereafter, Darude released his debut album, Before the Storm, selling 800,000 copies worldwide, topping the Finnish album charts, and earning him three Finnish Grammy awards. Before the Storm was produced by JS16, and features two of his remixes.
Darude's second single, "Feel the Beat," followed the success of "Sandstorm", reaching #1 in Finland for 2 weeks and #5 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] Subsequent releases, "Out of Control," and "Out of Control (Back for More)" (a remix of the former, featuring vocals by Tammie Marie) failed to match the success of Darude's first two singles.
Darude began a successful world tour in 2001, releasing Before the Storm: Australian Tour Edition in the process. 2002 saw the release of Before the Storm: Special Edition, featuring a collection of remixes of Darude's work. Since the release of Rush, Darude has remained on the road, particularly the United States and Eastern Europe.
In 2003, Darude released his second album, 'Rush', along with singles "Music" and "Next to You". All three had modest success, with Rush reaching #4 in weekly Finnish album sales and "Next to You" being commonly featured in DJ mixes.
Recent developments
Darude performing at The Docks, Toronto, 2007"Tell Me" was released in Finland on April 11, 2007 and "My Game" on September 19, 2007. The Finnish release date for Label This! was October 24, 2007.
Darude is currently ranked #96 on the DJ List as of December 11, 2010[5] and #314 in the DJ Mag Top 100.[6]
World famous Brazilian mixed martial arts star and former PRIDE FC Middleweight champion Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva (pronounced Vanderlay) currently uses "Sandstorm" as his entrance music for fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Sandstorm can also be heard playing at many sporting events worldwide.
Darude launched a label on January 1, 2011 with USA producer/DJ Randy Boyer called EnMass Music.
Discography
Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions AUS
[7]CAN
[8]FIN
[9]FRA
[10]NOR
[11]SWE
[12]US Dan
[13]US Indie
[14]Before the Storm - Release date: May 8, 2001
- Label: Helsinki Music Group
- Formats: CD
36 18 1 34 14 9 6 11 Rush - Release date: July 15, 2003
- Label: Helsinki Music Group
- Formats: CD
— — 4 — — — 11 — Label This! - Release date: October 27, 2007
- Label: Helsinki Music Group
- Formats: CD, music download
— — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions Album FIN[15] FIN Dance UK[16] IRE[17] NOR[18] SWE[19] NED[20] AUT[21] FRA[22] CAN[23] AUS[24] U.S. Dance[25] U.S.[26] 1999 "Sandstorm" 3 1 3 3 1 6 8 13 14 1 40 5 83 Before the Storm 2000 "Feel the Beat" 1 1 5 10 18 18 19 24 25 7 20 5 — "Out of Control" — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2001 "Out of Control (Back for More)" 12 — 13 — — 52 — 50 72 — 45 — — 2003 "Music" 1 1 — — — 51 88 — — — — — — Rush "Next to You" 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 2007 "Tell Me" 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — Label This! "My Game" 4 — — — — — — — — — — — — 2008 "In the Darkness" — — — — — — — — — — — — — "Selfless" ft. Blake Lewis — — — — — — — — — — — — — Dance4Life "I Ran (So Far Away)" ft. Blake Lewis — — — — — — — — — — — — — Label This! (US Edition) Official remixes and other productions
- 2000: Rising Star - "Touch Me (Darude Remix)"
- 2000: Rising Star - "Touch Me (Darude's Sandstorm Mix)"
- 2000: Blank & Jones - "Beyond Time (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: Boom! - "Boy Versus Girls (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: Barcode Brothers - "Dooh Dooh (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: JDS - "Nine Ways (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: Waldo's People - "No-Man's-Land (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: Waldo's People - "1000 Ways (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: ATB feat. York - "The Fields of Love (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: Safri Duo - "Played A-Live (The Bongo Song)(Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2000: The Thrillseekers - "Synaesthesia (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2001: Bleachin' - "Peakin' (Darude vs. JS16 Short Version)"
- 2001: Bleachin' - "Peakin' (Darude vs. JS16 Long Version)"
- 2001: JS16 - "Stomping System (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2002: DJ Aligator - "Lollipop (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)
- 2003: Gizelle - "Falling Over You (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2004: Klamydia - "Darude's Aleksi Mutation"
- 2008: Kenneth Thomas - "Stronger Creature (Darude Remix)"
- 2009: Randy Boyer & Kristina Sky feat. Cari Golden - "No Limit (Darude Remix)"
- 2009: Alex Kunnari - "Eternity (Darude Remix)"
- 2010: J. Nitti feat. Rowetta - "No More Comin' Down (Darude Remix)"
- 2010: Darude & Weirdness feat. Jo Angel - "Katson Autiota Hiekkarantaa"
- 2010: 2AM vs. Darude feat. Georgia Haege - "Crazy World"
- 2011: Paul Corson - "Midnight Train (Darude Original Mix)"
- 2011: Paul Corson - "Midnight Train (Darude Alternative Mix)"
- 2011: Randy Boyer - "Brain Dysfunction (Darude Remix)"
- 2011: Weirdness feat. Amy Hamblin - "Rain Falls On Me (Darude Remix)"
References
- ^ Dj Ron Slomowicz: "Interview with Darude" About.com. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ Slipper, Daniel: "Darude Interview 2007" DavePearce.co.uk. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 141. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Ron Slomowicz (2003-11-13). "Your Guide to Dance Music / Electronica.". http://dancemusic.about.com/b/a/026793.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-26.
- ^ "The DJ List - DJ Directory: Rank: 1 to 50". http://www.thedjlist.com/djs/.
- ^ "DJmag.com: Top 100 DJs - Results & History". http://www.djmag.com/index.php?op=top_100&story=2006b.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=Darude&cat=a. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "Darude Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/darude/chart-history/404062?f=309&g=Albums. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "finnishcharts.com - Finnish charts portal". Hung Medien. http://www.finnishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Darude&cat=a. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "lescharts.com - French charts portal". Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=Darude&cat=a. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=Darude&cat=a. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish charts portal". Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Darude&cat=a. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "Darude Album & Song Chart History - Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/darude/chart-history/404062?f=322&g=Albums. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "Darude Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/darude/chart-history/404062?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ http://finnishcharts.com/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=9220
- ^ http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement
- ^ http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p437512
- ^ http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=darude&cat=s
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/artist/darude/chart-history/404062?f=359&g=Singles
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/artist/darude/chart-history/404062?f=379&g=Singles
External links
- Darude's official site
- Darude on Myspace
- Darude discography at Discogs
- Last.fm
- MusicBrainz
- Allmusic
- 16 Inch Records
- Official JS16 site
- Darude @ Russia
- EnMass Music - Darude's record company with Randy Boyer
- TranceSound interview, February 2011
Singles "Sandstorm" (1999) · "Feel the Beat" (2000) · "Out of Control" (2000) · "Out of Control" (Back For More) (2001) · "Music" (2003) · "Next to You" (2003) · "Tell Me" (2007) · "My Game" (2007) · "In the Darkness" (2007) · "Selfless" (2008) · "I Ran" (So Far Away) (ft. Blake Lewis) (2009) · "Crazy World" (2011)Categories:- 1975 births
- Living people
- Club DJs
- Finnish trance musicians
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