Darude is none other than Finnish wonder boy Ville Virtanen, which doesn't sound half so hard. His career in music started back in school when he used his PC to wile away his hours making happy hardcore tunes, however the limits of the PC [and happy hardcore] soon started to frustrate Ville and he moved onto creating sounds in the studio. At a pre-party at his friend's house, Ville played 'Rude Boy' by Swedish singer Leila K several times in a row which lead to his friends calling him 'Rude Boy', which he started using as his nickname online and when making music. 'Rudeboy' was shortened 'The Rude' and finally 'Da Rude', which was further combined 'Darude' for the logo when the first single 'Sandstorm' was released.Unlike many other dance music producers, Darude doesn't have a DJ background, though he DJs regularly these days. Before he started producing music, he was really into listening to music and going clubbing and that's where his "education" and wide taste in music comes from. His musical career really took off when he gave Finnish producer Jaakko Salovaara (JS16) a demo CD with 'Sandstorm' on it. Jaakko liked what he heard and signed Darude up to 16 Inch Records. The single 'Sandstorm' was the first release on the label and was a massive hit in Finland - going directly to number one in the dance chart and staying in the charts for 16 weeks. 'Sandstorm' has now sold platinum in many countries and was just RIAA certified 'Gold' for 500000 downloads in USA. After 'Sandstorm' Darude has released 10 singles, 3 albums and 18 official Darude or Darude vs. JS16 remixes.In 2004 in addition to his live performances, Darude started focusing on touring as a DJ. He quickly took off with this type of performing, which gave him a way to combine his passion for listening to music & making it. As a DJ his style is a mix of progressive & uplifting trance, but he's not shy to throw in some tech, breaks and house flavour with even the occasional heavy metal samples, which mirrors his production style as well. His goal is to get arms waving, feet moving and hips shaking regardless of the time, place or exact genre. Darude has solidified himself as a DJ for the people which has given him an ever expanding fan base that follow him on each new venture in his career.
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."
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[1] (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.[1] 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 posted his singles "Tell Me" and "My Game" from his new album Label This! on his official MySpace page. "Tell Me" was released in Finland on April 11, 2007 and "My Game" on September 19, 2007.
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From Wikipedia: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. Darude is known worldwide for his progressive/uplifting style.[citation needed]