Ville “Darude” Virtanen had only been to Beta once before, but he remembered it fondly. “The place was bangin’, and the crowd really got me going and I enjoyed getting them going,” the Finnish DJ said. On March 16, Darude returned to the Uptown Waterloo bar, looking to relive the raving memories that he had last time around.
First known for his smash-hit “Sandstorm,” which flew up the charts worldwide in 1999 with its uplifting and fast-paced vibes. Darude has been working ever since to demonstrate his versatility as an artist by making music that is not only unique, but also reflects his personality. “It’s always been the same for me with my music,” Darude told The Cord. “I just want to give the crowd the best time possible with music that not only they can enjoy, but also with music that I can enjoy.”
Amidst all the fame Darude has accumulated the past 14 years since his debut album Before the Storm was released, he still remains humble, remembering where he began and how lucky he is to be in the position that he is in today. “Finland is a small country, we only had one or two dance music shows and a couple DJs working with that sound, so they were my inspiration,” said Darude.
As a result of Finland having a relatively small dance music industry at the time, Darude has worked hard in order to pay respect to his heritage by playing tracks made by fellow Finnish DJs and other early influential DJs throughout his career. He paid tribute to another electronic DJ pioneer, Tiësto, by playing the symphonic “Adagio for Strings” for the Beta crowd, which turned out to be one of the night’s most spectacular tracks.
Darude went out clubbing when he was younger, not to party, but to immerse himself in the world that he loved when he was a student of music and wanted to be a part of. “I was going to these clubs three to four times a week,” he said. “And right after I’d go home and try and recreate the music that I had heard.”
It is through his dedication to music that Darude has made his sound authentic, which is certainly something that he showed in his performance on Saturday night. Over the course of his set, Darude blasted a variety of sounds, which left the crowd with no other choice but to keep their hands up high all night long. At the start of the show, Darude gave the crowd a very trance-sounding introduction, this established the tone for a hypnotic evening. He didn’t disappoint. By playing trance at the beginning, Darude set the stage for a harder tempo and rhythmic bass.
As the neon lights bounced across the room the crowd roared over the course of the two-hour performance and Darude kept the energy going by interacting with the audience, frequently shaking hands with members of the crowd and filming GoPro videos with them.