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.
(2) Finnish DJ/Producer Darude (born Ville Virtanen) started experimenting with music and DJing while still attending school, adopting the nickname of "the Rude" (later Darude) after Swedish rap star Leila K.'s "Rude Boy."
Producer Jaakko Salovaara (aka JS 16), founder of the independent label 16 Inch, teamed up with him to release his first single, called "Sandstorm." British Neo-Record became involved in the newcomer project soon after. In June 2000, Darude achieved the status of chart-topping artist in the U.K. Around the same time, Ville Virtanen successfully performed on the BBC Top of the Pops show, bringing forth the release of his debut album titled Before the Storm. ~ Drago Bonacich, Rovi
The Flow
Darude Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feel the flow
Mind machine flashing
The green light to go
Beat box drummer
And a microphone
That's all we need to
Make the show flow, So [X 4]
That's all we need to
Make the show flow
Beat box drummer
And a microphone
That's all we need to
Make the show flow, So
Rock your body
Feel the flow
Mind machine flashing
The green light to go
Beat box drummer
And a microphone
That's all we need to
Make the show flow, So [X 4]
Green light to go [X 3]
That's all we need to
Make the show flow
The lyrics to Darude's song The Flow may at first seem simple and straightforward, but they actually encapsulate the essence of dance music culture. The opening line, "Rock your body, feel the flow," is an invitation to let the music take over and allow your body to move instinctively to the beat. The next line, "mind machine flashing, the green light to go," alludes to the electronic, futuristic aspect of dance music, where DJs use technology to create an otherworldly experience. The beat box drummer and microphone mentioned throughout the song represent the traditional instruments of hip-hop and rap music, which have been incorporated into dance music over the years.
The chorus, "that's all we need to make the show flow," is a nod to the simplicity of dance music – it doesn't require elaborate setups or complicated instrumentation to create a powerful experience. The repetition of this line reinforces the idea that dance music is about the combination of simple elements to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The final repetition of "green light to go" is a final reminder to let go and allow oneself to be carried away by the music.
Line by Line Meaning
Rock your body
Move your body to the rhythm of the music
Feel the flow
Surrender yourself to the beat and let it guide your movements
Mind machine flashing
The music is so intense that it stimulates the mind like a flashing machine
The green light to go
The music gives us the signal to start moving
Beat box drummer
The person providing the rhythm, like a drummer, using their vocal cords
And a microphone
The tool that amplifies the sound of the beat box drummer
That's all we need to
We don't need anything else besides the beat box drummer and microphone
Make the show flow, So [X 4]
With just the beat box drummer and microphone, we can create a seamless and continuous performance
Green light to go [X 3]
The music signals us to start moving and keeps us going
That's all we need to
We only need the beat box drummer and microphone to create an amazing musical experience
Make the show flow
The beat box drummer and microphone allow us to create a flowing and captivating performance
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAAKKO SAKARI SALOVAARA, TONI OLAVI LAHDE, VILLE VIRTANEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind