Darude would rather live in Turku, Finland, than anywhere else in the world, but when you're an internationally famous DJ, you do a great deal of traveling, on the road four to five months each year. Last Tuesday, he was in San Diego. Earlier this week, he was in Victoria, Canada, then Seattle, then Salt Lake City, and this Saturday, Vegas.
Born Ville Virtanen, Darude was repairing computers and studying economics in 2000 when he released his first No. 1 single, "Sandstorm." The song went on to become not only a club anthem but a flair bartending anthem, as well. Humble, with an organic approach to music and fame, Darude would happily still be a computer repairman if he weren't touring worldwide and poised to release his fourth album, Label This.
The alias came about via an old-fashioned game of telephone. First "Rude Boy," after a favorite song by Swedish rapper Leila K., then "the Rude," "Da Rude" and finally, "Darude."
Darude made his first appearance in December 1999 at Finland's Nitetrain club. It was his idol Jaakko "JS16" Salovaara, himself a DJ of impressive magnitude, who heard Darude's demo and produced his debut album, Before The Storm.
Though Darude claims he can never turn off his "pro-ear," with which he listens to every house mix and remix he can get his hands on, he still enjoys the music he loved as a kid: Bon Jovi, KISS and Twisted Sister. This has greatly affected the way he looks at music. Darude's role as a DJ, he believes, is to entertain and hopefully to educate. As an artist, he wants to make music that is approachable and increases the awareness of trance and electronic, overall.
At 29, Darude spends hundreds of hours in the studio. Each track is a matter of inspiration, and whereas one track may be laid down in a day, another may take months. During that process, he tests his new material in the field, slipping them into his sets and watching the crowd's reaction. "It's great to be in control, just to know that this next track will bring the house down," he says. "I get to play the music I love, loud and in the order I want."
By the end of 2003, Darude had released his third album, Rush (his second being a two-disc edition of Before The Storm), and again the first two singles went straight to No. 1 in Europe. He was getting airplay on dance-music stations worldwide and top DJs like Tiesto and Ferry Corsen were lending him their support. Darude's music was catching on with more than just the listening public; his tracks began appearing in Hollywood sound tracks (Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever), on Playstation games (Dance Dance Revolution), mobile-phone ring tones and during major sports broadcasts.
What can be expected from his visit to Rubber? In addition to his own uplifting progressive and melodic trance, Darude will move through break beats, add a touch of house, and even go back to his roots with a bit of heavy metal. He also likes to plug his Finnish brethren, sampling from Super 8 and Above & Beyond, a Finnish-British duo, and an appearance by good friend Heikke Liimatainen of the Dallas Superstars.
He laughs when asked what advice he has for aspiring DJs. "It's funny to think about people looking up to me; I have people I look up to!" he says. "If you make music, do it for the right reasons. Love music. Have respect for your craft. Ego blocks creativity—trust in that. Learn from your masters."