Back in October, Tone Deaf had the pleasure, and many would say honour, of speaking to singer and internet phenomenon Rick Astley — best known for his 1987 pop hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, which gave birth to the more recent web phenomenon known as Rickrolling — about how an internet joke effectively revived his career.
You may soon be able to add Darude, the DJ and producer known for his imperishable 1999 dance classic ‘Sandstorm’, to that dubious honour’s roll of artists whose international careers were given CPR thanks to an internet joke that everyone, for better or worse, just seemed to jump on.
Though it may initially sound like a joke to some, the organisers of Future Music Festival have taken to Facebook to announce that they have added the Finnish producer to their 2015 lineup, which already featured the likes of hip-hop superstar Drake and big beat legends The Prodigy.
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It’s been something of a long road to this announcement for Darude, real name Ville Virtanen. He was thrust back into the limelight with a failed Pozible campaign that sought to bring Virtanen to Australia, then had his legacy cemented after chart-toppers Peking Duk dropped his biggest hit at Stereosonic to an epic reception from punters.
The reaction from fans was so enthusiastic, in fact, that it pushed ‘Sandstorm’, which, it might bear reminding you dear reader, is a slightly dated Eurotrance track that wasn’t even released in this century, back into the top 20 of the iTunes dance chart.
Of course, it’s important to note that while little has been heard from Darude in recent years here Down Under, over in Europe Virtanen has continued to tour and perform in clubs around the continent and overseas, and is even gearing up to release his fourth artist album next year.
