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Darude
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darude | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Ville Virtanen | |
| Born | July 17, 1975 | |
| Origin |  Eura, Finland |
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| Genre(s) | Electronica | |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, DJ | |
| Years active | 1999–present | |
| Website | darude.com | |
Ville Virtanen (born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude is an electronic dance music producer and DJ from Eura, Hinnerjoki, Finland. Debuting in 1999 with the smash single Sandstorm and subsequent album Before the Storm, Darude is known worldwide for his progressive/uplifting style.
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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 (and his grades correspondingly dropped), 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".
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.
Sandstorm was a smash hit in Finland, topping the Finnish Single Chart, 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 (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 record in 2000.
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, closely followed the success of Sandstorm, reaching #5 on the UK Singles chart. 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.
Darude's expected third album is tentatively named Label This! and will be released at some point in 2007.
Darude is currently ranked #46 on the DJ List (Link) and #84 in the DJ Mag Top 100 (Link).
Darude posted his latest single Tell Me from the upcoming album Label This! on his official Myspace page, on April 4th, 2007.
- 2000: "Before the Storm"
- 2002: "Before the Storm Special Edition"
- 2003: "Rush"
- 2007: "Label This!"
- 1999: "Sandstorm"
- 2000: "Feel the Beat"
- 2000: "Out of Control"
- 2001: "Out of Control (Back for More)"
- 2003: "Music"
- 2003: "Next to You"
- 2007: "Tell Me"
- 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 - "The Fields of Love (Darude Remix)"
- 2000: Bleachin' - "Peakin' (Darude vs. JS16 Short Version)"
- 2000: Bleachin' - "Peakin' (Darude vs. JS16 Long Version)"
- 2001: Safri Duo - "Played A-Live (The Bongo Song)(Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2001: The Thrillseekers - "Synaesthesia (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"
- 2002: DJ Alligator Project - "Lollipop (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"