Ville Virtanen – TALKS WITH PETRI
Ville Virtanen talks about what happens when you are hit by Sandstorm and how to cope with expectations, success and stay relevant over time. This episode is totally out of control so just feel the vibe and tune in.
Bio
Famed for the global platinum-selling smash ‘Sandstorm’, Darude is recognised as one of the most influential artists to emerge from the dance scene. With a DJ style that is a mixture of progressive and uplifting trance, fused with elements of tech, breaks and house, Darude’s music delivers a dynamic energy that gets any dance floor moving.
With over 15 years of heavily touring North and South America, as well as leading shows in Asia and Australasia his resume of accolades is a testament to the exponential growth of his profile as an international artist. Over the years he’s appeared on TV channels such as BBC, NBC, CNN and MTV, as well as having won several prestigious awards such as 2 x German Dance Awards, Dance Star Award, USA Golden Turntable DJ Award and he is a 3 x Finnish Grammy Award winner. His name has also appeared in numerous public-voted polls with previous entries in Top 100 DJs Poll and Americas Favourite DJ.
Show notes
– How Darude became an Internet meme
– Sharing your knowledge with others
– Showing vulnerability in your work
– Streaming in the 2020s (Twitch, Instagram, FB, TikTok)
– IRL and online communities
– Revenue streams for music creators
– How to cope with corona times without performing live
– Balcony Darude as a Corona time phenomenon
– Meaning of success
– How it all started and the making of Sandstorm
– Ville’s career aspirations and his early rejections by labels
– Storytelling in the marketing of Sandstorm
– JS16 and the Finnish Denniz Pop & Max Martin
– Agile development in music-making
– Creating music and making hits based on audience responses
– Expectation and influence management
– Changes to music due to COVID-times
– Skateboarding and TikTok
– Distractions in the creative process
– Changes in the listening behaviour and technology over the decades
Show links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU (Darude – Sandstorm)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CK6YoeHBo6V/ (Elon Musk’s tweet)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QSNGL53J8M Parvekedarudet (balcony darude)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-y_gGSFYw1/ (Ironing it out)
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=darude%20sandstorm (2014 Google trend)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-JeMcfeLTE (The Story of Sandstorm)
https://www.netflix.com/ee/title/81050786 (This Is Pop, Netflix; Stockholm Syndrome episode)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BT5jFerh4RX/ (Robert Miles)
https://www.instagram.com/p/aOFhuquIC2/ (Rejection letter – Poko)
https://www.instagram.com/p/aOFVgjuICm/ (Rejection letter – Sony)
https://www.instagram.com/p/aOEn-duIB0/ (Rejection letter – EMI)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/4updgu/ama_im_darude_ask_me_anything/ (Reddit AMA)
(photo credit Nana Simelius)
