Ville Virtanen (born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude is a Trance 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.

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.

Albums

* 2001: Before the Storm
* 2002: Before the Storm Special Edition
* 2003: Rush
* 2007: Label This!

Singles

* 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"
* 2007: "My Game"

Official remixes

* 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 Aligator Project - "Lollipop (Darude vs. JS16 Remix)"

Source : www.wikipedia.org