Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born 17 July 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from
Eura,
Satakunta
Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...
.
His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style.
He started making music in 1995 and released the platinum-selling
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...
"
Sandstorm" in late 1999. His debut studio album, ''
Before the Storm'', was released on 18 September 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide,
earning Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards.
It peaked at number one on
Finland's Official List
The Official Finnish Charts (; ) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista'' (lit. "the Official Finnish Chart"), which is ...
and number 6 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Dance/Electronic Albums
Top Dance Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling dance music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by Nielsen ...
chart in the United States.
Darude's second studio album, ''
Rush'', reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' dance chart in 2003
and number 4 on
weekly album chart in Finland.
His third studio album, ''
Label This!'' was released in 2007.
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."
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 Tomorrowland may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world
* Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium
* ''Tom ...
in 2014
and
Future Music Festival in 2015,
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
1990s: Early years and "Sandstorm"
Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen was born on 17 July 1975, in the
Finnish village of
Hinnerjoki in
Eura.
Virtanen started his career as a musician while studying at
Turku Polytechnic, 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
Laila El Khalifi (; born 6 September 1971) better known by her stage name Leila K, is a Swedish Eurodance singer and rapper of Moroccan descent.
Early life
El Khalifi's parents decided to send her to a school in Morocco, but she did not fit int ...
) several times in a row. This earned him the nickname "Rude Boy," which gradually morphed into "Da Rude" and then "Darude".
Active in the Finnish music
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
scene since 1995,
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.
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.
"Sandstorm" was a hit internationally, selling platinum
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
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(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
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...
in 2000.
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,
and in October 2015, the track achieved platinum sales status in the UK as it surpassed 600,000 sales in the UK.
His first live gig was on 5 December 1999, in
Tampere, Finland
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
.
2000–06: ''Before the Storm'' and ''Rush''
Darude's debut studio album ''Before the Storm'' was produced by
JS16 (Jaakko Salovaara), and features two of JS16's remixes.
The album includes several singles, including "Sandstorm."
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.
''Before the Storm'' was released on September 5, 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide,
earning Darude three Finnish Grammy awards.
It also peaked on a number of charts, including No. 1 on
Finland's Official List
The Official Finnish Charts (; ) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista'' (lit. "the Official Finnish Chart"), which is ...
for albums,
No. 6 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Dance/Electronic Albums
Top Dance Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling dance music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by Nielsen ...
chart
and No. 11 on the US
Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
chart.
It also charted at No. 9 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
No. 14 in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
and No. 18 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, among other rankings.
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.
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.
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
and No. 4 on
weekly album chart in Finland,
while "Next to You" charted at No. 1 on the Finnish singles chart. MacKenzie Wilson of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
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
icmix of techno and trance is perfected into a fashionably slick spiral of synthesized heat."
After the release of ''Rush'' Darude maintained a heavy touring schedule, particularly the United States and Eastern Europe.
2007–12: ''Label This!'' and EnMass Music

His single "Tell Me" was released in Finland on April 11, 2007, and "My Game" on September 19, 2007.
''
Label This!'' is the third studio album from Darude. Released on October 24, 2007, in Finland and on October 27 in Europe,
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.
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."
Darude was ranked No. 96 on the DJ List as of December 11, 2010
and No. 314 in the
DJ Mag
''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...
Top 100.
He has also recently completed remixes for artists such as
ATB and
The Thrillseekers
Steve Helstrip, known by the stage name the Thrillseekers, is an English DJ and record producer. His debut single was "Synaesthesia", released in 1999.
Helstrip has worked under the guises of En Motion, Insigma, Rapid Eye and Hydra. He also w ...
, with radio play from
Radio 1 personalities such as
Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
,
Judge Jules,
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten OON (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moonman, Pulp Victim an ...
, and
Paul Oakenfold.
Darude co-founded the record label EnMass Music in 2011.
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. He took part in a label showcase for EnMasse in Amsterdam in October 2012.
2013–15: Touring and ''Moments''
Darude continued to tour into 2013, performing that year at the Groove Cruise out of Miami and playing two days of
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world
* Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium
* ''Tom ...
in July 2014 in Belgium.
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.

Darude's most recent studio album, ''
Moments'', was his first full-length release in eight years.
Guest artists included
Caater and string band
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...
, 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.
''Moments'' was officially released on August 14, 2015, through
Warner Music Finland
Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
*Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Music Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* A ...
in Europe
and overseas.
The album blends genres such as
electro,
progressive house
Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...
,
and We Rave You wrote that "Darude's ability is once again proven filling the spectrum from
big-room to trance to
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...
-infused depth."
The album's mixing of genres was generally well-received,
and
Dancing Astronaut
Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content syn ...
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."
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."
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
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
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
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...
.
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 Huracán supercar. deadmau5 noted that "You
arudeand 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
lectronic musicbecame less 'underground and cool'... there wasn't anything before that".
2019: Eurovision Song Contest
On January 29, 2019, Darude was announced as the
Finnish representative for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. He performed alongside
Sebastian Rejman, and his entry "
Look Away" was decided in a special edition of ''
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu
(; abbreviated UMK; ; ) is an annual music contest organised by the Finnish public broadcaster Yle. It made its debut in 2012 as the format for the Eurovision Song Contest, replacing the previous Finnish Eurovision selection which had been he ...
''. 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.
Awards and nominations
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Before the Storm'' (2000)
*''
Rush'' (2003)
*''
Label This!'' (2007)
*''
Moments'' (2015)
*''
Together
''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...
'' (2023)
Personal life
Darude has a son (born 2009) and a daughter (born 2017) with his American wife, Michelle.
He lived in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, from the late 2000s to 2013.
, Darude has lived in
Salo, Finland, with his family.
See also
*
List of trance musicians
References
Further reading
;Articles and interviews
*
*
*
;Discographies
*
*
External links
*
EnMassMusic.com(Darude's label)
{{Authority control
1975 births
Chiptune and tracker musicians
Club DJs
Electronic dance music DJs
Finnish composers
Finnish DJs
Finnish electronic musicians
Finnish expatriates in the United States
Finnish male composers
Finnish trance musicians
Living people
People from Eura
YouTube channels launched in 2005
Eurovision Song Contest entrants