Finnish DJ and composer
Darude
|
---|
Darude in 2014
|
|
Birth name
| Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen
|
---|
Also known as
| |
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Born
| (
1975-07-17
)
July 17, 1975
(age 48)
Eura
,
Satakunta
,
Finland
|
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Origin
| Turku
, Finland
|
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Genres
| |
---|
Occupation(s)
| |
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Years active
| 1997?present
|
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Labels
| |
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|
Website
| darude
.com
|
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Musical artist
Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen
(
Finnish:
[?toni??ilːe
?henrik
??irt?nen]
; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name
Darude
(
), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from
Eura
,
Satakunta
.
[1]
His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style.
[2]
He started making music in 1995 and released the platinum-selling
[3]
hit single
"
Sandstorm
" in late 1999. His debut studio album,
Before the Storm
, was released on September 18, 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide,
[1]
earning Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards.
[1]
It peaked at number one on
Finland's Official List
[4]
and number 6 on the
Billboard
Dance/Electronic Albums
chart in the United States.
[5]
Darude's second studio album,
Rush
, reached number 11 on the
Billboard
dance chart in 2003
[6]
and number 4 on
weekly album chart in Finland
.
[4]
His third studio album,
Label This!
was released in 2007.
[7]
Though it did not chart as high as his previous albums,
Gawker
praised the album's single "In the Darkness" as "a floating, gossamer piece of trance music... it's tightly composed, easy to dance to, and has a soaring, undeniable hook."
[8]
In 2011, he co-founded the record label
EnMass Music
, through which he has released a number of mix compilations related to his radio show
Salmiakki Sessions.
After performing at festivals such as the tenth anniversary of
Tomorrowland
in 2014
[9]
and
Future Music Festival
in 2015,
[10]
he released his most recent studio album,
Moments
, on August 14, 2015, followed by a tour of the United States and Canada in September 2015. He represented Finland in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
, alongside singer
Sebastian Rejman
, with the song "
Look Away
".
Career
[
edit
]
1990s: Early years and "Sandstorm"
[
edit
]
Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen was born on July 17, 1975, in the
Finnish
village of
Hinnerjoki
in
Eura
.
[1]
[11]
Virtanen started his career as a musician while studying at
Turku Polytechnic
, making music using his PC's
tracker software
.
[12]
[13]
As his interest in music production rapidly grew, he moved on to more serious production techniques.
[12]
[14]
While at a classmate's party, Virtanen played the song "Rude Boy" (written by
Swedish
artist
Leila K
) several times in a row. This earned him the nickname "Rude Boy," which gradually morphed into "Da Rude" and then "Darude".
[14]
Active in the Finnish music
trance
and
house
scene since 1995,
[1]
Virtanen continued producing music into the 1990s. He began occasionally releasing demos to radio stations beginning in 1997, and offering his music for download on
MP3.com
, making him an early adopter of online file sharing for music promotion.
[15]
In 1999, he gave a demo for the track "
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.
[15]
"Sandstorm" was a hit internationally, selling platinum
[3]
and holding the No. 1 spot on the Finnish Dance Chart for seventeen consecutive weeks. After becoming the No. 3 single in the
United Kingdom
[16]
(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.
[14]
The song went on to be widely
featured in the media
, particularly at sporting events and on soundtracks for video games and television shows. Various videos and live streams of "Sandstorm" had gathered some 60 million hits by December 2014,
[8]
and in October 2015, the track achieved platinum sales status in the UK as it surpassed 600,000 sales in the UK.
[3]
His first live gig was on December 5, 1999, in
Tampere, Finland
.
[11]
2000?06:
Before the Storm
and
Rush
[
edit
]
Darude's debut studio album
Before the Storm
was produced by
JS16
(Jaakko Salovaara), and features two of JS16's remixes.
[17]
The album includes several singles, including "Sandstorm."
[17]
The second single "
Feel the Beat
" had replicated the success of "Sandstorm", reaching No. 1 on the
singles charts in Finland
for 2 weeks and No. 5 on the
UK Singles Chart
.
[16]
Before the Storm
was released on September 5, 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide,
[1]
earning Darude three Finnish Grammy awards.
[1]
It also peaked on a number of charts, including No. 1 on
Finland's Official List
for albums,
[4]
No. 6 on the
Billboard
Dance/Electronic Albums
chart
[5]
and No. 11 on the US
Independent Albums
chart.
[18]
It also charted at No. 9 in
Sweden
,
[19]
No. 14 in
Norway
,
[20]
and No. 18 in
Canada
, among other rankings.
[21]
Shortly after the album's release, Darude created a vocal edit of "Out of Control", and released it as a single; "
Out of Control (Back for More)
". This single also charted in major countries and was re-released on several editions of the album.
[22]
Darude began a 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.
[23]
After releasing the singles "Music" and "
Next to You
" in early 2003, in July of that year both tracks were included on Darude's second album,
Rush
. The album reached No. 11 on the
Billboard
Top Electronic Albums
chart
[6]
and No. 4 on
weekly album chart in Finland
,
[4]
while "Next to You" charted at No. 1 on the Finnish singles chart. MacKenzie Wilson of
Allmusic
criticized the lack of variety between tracks but praised the release in general, writing that Darude "builds upon the dynamics of
Before the Storm
, raises the pressure, and fuels the flame for an electrifying dozen-track set. Darude's talent in keeping the energy at an elevated level without losing touch with the album's overall ambience is what makes him a star and an integral part of the new-millennium dance scene. His classy of[sic] mix of techno and trance is perfected into a fashionably slick spiral of synthesized heat."
[6]
After the release of
Rush
Darude maintained a heavy touring schedule, particularly the United States and Eastern Europe.
[9]
2007?12:
Label This!
and EnMass Music
[
edit
]
His single "Tell Me" was released in Finland on April 11, 2007, and "My Game" on September 19, 2007.
[23]
Label This!
is the third studio album from Darude. Released on October 24, 2007, in Finland and on October 27 in Europe,
[7]
the American edition was released in 2008, with the notable inclusion of Darude's newest single, "I Ran (So Far Away)" featuring
Blake Lewis
, as the third track on the album.
[24]
The album did not chart as high as Darude's two previous album releases, though
Gawker
wrote that the album's single "In the Darkness" "is a floating, gossamer piece of trance music of the kind
AraabMuzik
spun into such magic on
Electronic Dream
. Like '
Sandstorm
,' it's tightly composed, easy to dance to, and has a soaring, undeniable hook."
[8]
Darude was ranked No. 96 on the DJ List as of December 11, 2010
[25]
and No. 314 in the
DJ Mag
Top 100.
[26]
He has also recently completed remixes for artists such as
ATB
and
The Thrillseekers
, with radio play from
Radio 1
personalities such as
Pete Tong
,
Judge Jules
,
Ferry Corsten
, and
Paul Oakenfold
.
[11]
Darude co-founded the record label EnMass Music in 2011.
[1]
Through EnMass Music, Darude released a DJ mix compilation titled
Salmiakki Sessions Vol. 1
on December 20, 2011. The compilation is a reflection of his namesake radio mix show, and includes ten of his recent remix productions and eight of his track redone by Finnish artists and producers. Five of the tracks are previously unreleased exclusives for the compilation.
[
citation needed
]
He took part in a label showcase for EnMasse in Amsterdam in October 2012.
[9]
2013?15: Touring and
Moments
[
edit
]
Darude continued to tour into 2013, performing that year at the Groove Cruise out of Miami and playing two days of
Tomorrowland
in July 2014 in Belgium.
[9]
In March 2015 he performed at
Future Music Festival
in Australia, playing at all five festival dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, also playing a variety of sideshows at clubs as part of the festival.
[10]
Darude's most recent studio album,
Moments
, was his first full-length release in eight years.
[27]
Guest artists included
Caater
and string band
Apocalyptica
, among others. The lead single from the album, "Beautiful Alien," had previously charted at No. 1 on the Finnish iTunes charts, with a music video released as well in March 2015.
[28]
Moments
was officially released on August 14, 2015, through
Warner Music Finland
in Europe
[29]
[30]
and overseas.
[31]
The album blends genres such as
electro
,
progressive house
,
[2]
and We Rave You wrote that "Darude's ability is once again proven filling the spectrum from
big-room
to trance to
dubstep
-infused depth."
[32]
The album's mixing of genres was generally well-received,
[33]
and
Dancing Astronaut
praised the release, writing that "Darude’s return is a clear departure from what once defined him. In
Moments
, he steps outside the proverbial EDM box by toying around with a multitude of different styles, several of which appear simultaneously in each track."
[27]
YourEDM opined that the album was "gorgeous," explaining that it "features a wide variety of influences and sounds" with "great production, atmospheres, and melodies riding alongside quaintly catchy vocals."
[34]
Shortly following the album's release in September 2015, Darude embarked on a ten date tour of the United States and Canada, culminating in a performance at the inaugural TwitchCon, a gaming and tech convention organised by video streaming platform
Twitch
and held in
San Francisco
on September 25 and 26, 2015. With over 20,000 attendees over the weekend, Darude appeared as the headline DJ at the official afterparty, held in the
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
on September 26, 2015, and also featuring a performance from
deadmau5
.
[35]
In the run up to the event, Darude appeared as a guest in the deadmau5 Coffee Run series, chatting to the Canadian DJ about various topics while being driven in deadmau5's
Lamborghini Huracan
supercar. deadmau5 noted that "You [Darude] and a very select few others are responsible for the influx of electronic music into North America. It was 'Sandstorm' ? I'm totally being serious... that's what all the clubs were hitting on. That's the first time [electronic music] became less 'underground and cool'... there wasn't anything before that".
[36]
2019: Eurovision Song Contest
[
edit
]
On January 29, 2019, Darude was announced as the
Finnish representative
for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
in
Tel Aviv
,
Israel
. He performed alongside
Sebastian Rejman
, and his entry "
Look Away
" was decided in a special edition of
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu
.
[37]
They performed third in the first semi-final at Eurovision, but was placed last among the 17 countries competing in the semi-final, thus failing to qualify for the grand final.
[38]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
- Studio albums
Personal life
[
edit
]
Darude has a son (born 2009) and a daughter (born 2017) with his American wife, Michelle.
[39]
He lived in
Atlanta
, in the
United States
, from the late 2000s to 2013.
[40]
[41]
As of 2013
[update]
, Darude has lived in
Salo
, Finland, with his family.
[42]
[43]
[44]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Darude"
. Eurochannel.com. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Review: Darude ? Moments"
.
The Music Essentials
. August 17, 2015. Archived from
the original
on August 21, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Platinum - UK"
. BPI Music through Twitter
. Retrieved
July 6,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"finnishcharts.com ? Finnish charts portal"
. Hung Medien. Archived from
the original
on October 18, 2012
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Darude Album & Song Chart History ? Dance/Electronic Albums"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
Wilson, MacKenzie (July 15, 2003).
"Rush"
.
Allmusic
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Label This! review"
. findance.com. Archived from
the original
on August 14, 2007
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Cush, Andy (December 9, 2014).
"How Darude's "Sandstorm" Became the EDM Track Everyone on the Web Knows"
.
Gawker
. Archived from
the original
on August 17, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Dates for Darude"
.
Resident Advisor
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Baroni, Nastassia (February 28, 2015).
"Darude To Play Three Future Music Sideshows"
. musicfeeds.com
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"About"
. darude.com
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"FAQ"
. darude.com. Archived from
the original
on October 4, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
"Darude Interview"
. Archived from
the original
on January 10, 2001
. Retrieved
December 4,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Dj Ron Slomowicz: "
Interview with Darude
Archived
March 4, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
"
About.com.
Retrieved December 12, 2010.
Slomowicz, Ron (November 13, 2003).
"Your Guide to Dance Music / Electronica"
. Archived from
the original
on March 22, 2006
. Retrieved
July 26,
2006
.
- ^
a
b
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
.
- ^
a
b
Ravelin, Antti J. (February 13, 2001).
"
Before the Storm
review"
.
Allmusic
. Retrieved
December 30,
2014
.
- ^
"Darude Album & Song Chart History ? Independent Albums"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
"swedishcharts.com ? Swedish charts portal"
. Hung Medien
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
"norwegiancharts.com ? Norwegian charts portal"
. Hung Medien. Archived from
the original
on November 4, 2012
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
"Darude Album & Song Chart History ? Canadian Albums"
.
Billboard
.
Prometheus Global Media
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
"
"Out of Control (Back For More)" UK Chart History"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
November 3,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Darude"
.
iTunes
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
"Label This!"
.
Allmusic
. 2007
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
DJ Directory: Rank: 1 to 50
Archived
December 8, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
. The DJ List. Retrieved on November 19, 2011.
- ^
Top 100 DJs ? Results & History
. DJmag.com. Retrieved on November 19, 2011.
- ^
a
b
Hernandez, Christina (August 13, 2015).
"Exclusive: 'Moments' signals a long-awaited end to Darude's 8-year album hiatus"
. Dancing Astronaut
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
Papdatos, Markos (August 14, 2015).
"Finnish DJ Darude releases new artist album 'Moments'
"
.
Digital Journal
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
"iTunes: Darude - Moments (Europe)"
.
iTunes
. August 14, 2015
. Retrieved
August 19,
2015
.
- ^
"iTunes: Darude - Moments (UK)"
.
iTunes
. August 14, 2015
. Retrieved
August 19,
2015
.
- ^
"iTunes: Darude - Moments (Japan)"
.
iTunes
. August 14, 2015
. Retrieved
August 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Darude ends hiatus with new album "Moments"
"
. We Rave You. August 18, 2015. Archived from
the original
on August 19, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
"Darude Delivers Best 'Moments' With His New Artist Album"
. SonicAgenda. August 16, 2015. Archived from
the original
on December 20, 2016
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
"Darude Ends 8 Year Album Hiatus, Unveils Brand New 11-Track LP"
. YourEDM. August 13, 2015
. Retrieved
August 17,
2015
.
- ^
Jones, Connor (June 8, 2015).
"Darude To Host & Perform The After Party For Social Video & Gaming Conference"
. EDM.com. Archived from
the original
on June 12, 2015
. Retrieved
July 6,
2015
.
- ^
"Dacoffee - Runstorm"
.
YouTube
deadmau5
. Retrieved
July 6,
2015
.
- ^
"EDM icon Darude is representing Finland at Eurovision and people are losing their minds!"
.
Programs
. January 30, 2019
. Retrieved
January 31,
2019
.
- ^
"Eurovision 2019: Darude's journey from Sandstorm to Tel Aviv"
.
BBC News
. May 14, 2019
. Retrieved
May 22,
2022
.
- ^
Ylimutka, Leena (April 18, 2018).
"Daruden 8-vuotias poika nakee toistuvia painajaisia kauhuelokuvasta - vetoaa toisiin vanhempiin: "Meista on epareilua..."
"
.
Iltalehti
(in Finnish)
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
- ^
Malmi, Mia (May 11, 2016).
"Darude perheensa kanssa leffassa: Jaamme pysyvasti Suomeen"
.
Me Naiset
(in Finnish)
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
- ^
Rajala, Eeva (April 22, 2013).
"IS: Mita kuuluu Darudelle nykyaan?"
.
Voice.fi
(in Finnish).
Bauer Media
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
- ^
Tahtivaara, Sarianne (March 24, 2015).
"Yhdysvalloista palannut Darude paljasti, miksi muutti takaisin Suomeen"
.
MTVuutiset.fi
(in Finnish).
Bonnier Group
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
- ^
"SSS: Darude muuttaa takaisin Suomeen"
.
Stara
[
fi
]
(in Finnish). September 15, 2013
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
- ^
Kuvaja, Sini (January 30, 2019).
"Viela lukiossa Ville Virtanen oli tavallinen maaseudulla asuva nuori ? Lue, miten hanesta tuli Darude"
.
Aamulehti
(in Finnish)
. Retrieved
February 3,
2019
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Articles and interviews
- Discographies
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Darude
.
|
---|
|
Participation
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
Songs
|
- "
Aava
"
- "
Addicted to You
"
- "
Aina mun pitaa
"
- "
Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus
"
- "
Aurinko laskee lanteen
"
- "Blackbird"
- "Bye Bye Baby"
- "
Cha Cha Cha
"
- "Da Da Dam"
- "
Dark Side
"
- "
La dolce vita
"
- "
Elakoon elama
"
- "
Fantasiaa
"
- "
Fri?
"
- "
Hard Rock Hallelujah
"
- "
Hengaillaan
"
- "
Huilumies
"
- "
Hullu yo
"
- "
Jezebel
"
- "
Katson sineen taivaan
"
- "Keep Me Warm"
- "
Kuin silloin ennen
"
- "
Kun kello kay
"
- "
Laiskotellen
"
- "
Lapponia
"
- "Leave Me Alone"
- "A Little Bit"
- "
Look Away
"
"
Looking Back
"
- "Lose Control"
- "
Marry Me
"
- "
Missa miehet ratsastaa
"
- "
Monsters
"
- "
Muistathan
"
- "
Muistojeni laulu
"
- "
Nar jag blundar
"
- "
Nauravat silmat muistetaan
"
- "Never the End"
- "
Niin kaunis on taivas
"
- "
No Rules!
"
- "
Nuku pommiin
"
- "Old Man Fiddle"
- "Playboy"
- "Pump-Pump"
- "Reggae OK"
- "
Sata salamaa
"
- "Sing It Away"
- "Something Better"
- "Takes 2 to Tango"
- "
Tie uuteen paivaan
"
- "Tipi-tii"
- "Tom Tom Tom"
- "
Tule luo
"
- "
Tyolki ellaa
"
- "
Valoa ikkunassa
"
- "
Varjoon ? suojaan
"
- "Why?"
- "Yamma, yamma"
|
---|
- Note: Entries scored out signify where Finland did not compete
|
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Countries
| Final
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Semi-finals
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Withdrawn
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Artists
| |
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Songs
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List of Eurovision Song Contest 2019 jurors
|
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Artists
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