Written in partnership with Shawn Wicks
A turn-of-the-century titan, today Darude continues to tear up dancefloors across the globe with LA coming up on his agenda for a night at AVALON on April 22. As an evergreen producer, infectious dance anthems remain Darude’s forte and his latest single ‘Outlaws’ is a prime example, dropping on the Finnish star’s new Vibing Out record label.
Throughout the years, Darude has gone on to receive various accolades and awards including x3 Finnish Grammy Awards, USA Golden Turntable DJ Award, and in 2019 was presented the ultimate honour of representing his homeland Finland in the world’s biggest live music event, the Eurovision Song Contest, alongside Sebastian Rejman with ‘Look Away.’
“I still pinch myself at times. It’s a huge privilege to produce music and to make people feel elevated playing your tracks live to them in a club or at a festival, somewhere they can forget their worries for a short while. That intrinsic power that music has, never fails to amaze me. Even over twenty years later! I’ve had some incredible moments throughout my career, too many to list, and I love that I still get that same buzz and excitement when starting new projects today.”
Back to the present day, Darude turned heads with new single ‘Outlaws’ in collaboration with fellow Finnish maestros House Body and Oskr. Bonding over a nostalgic daze, ‘Outlaws’ was born of the desire to recreate an old school, anthemic rave energy in a fresh-sounding single that would induce a surge of serotonin on the dancefloor. Mission complete.
“The collaboration came about in a really organic way. It began with myself and my good friend House Body, aka Jaakko, jamming and playing around with 909 drumbeats with this desire to create a sound that resonated with our early rave days. Jaakko wrote this awesome guitar lick to go over my synth chords and we had the instrumental nailed in one sitting. Later, I played Oskr, a singer, songwriter and producer, and friend, the track. He loved it, and within two days we had his vocals to complete the single. I’m stoked with ‘Outlaws’ and working alongside friends is a true joy. “
The release of ‘Outlaws’ also celebrated the launch of Darude’s new record label, Vibing Out. The imprint aims to nurture and develop new talent and takes its name from Darude’s popular Friday night Vibing Out live stream parties on Twitch.
“With Vibing Out, I’m taking the power back. Stripping back the commercialism and politics of the music industry and putting the focus solely on music that is authentic to the producer. Whether that’s my own tracks, or the emerging talent we plan to work with as the label grows.”
Darude gets ready to jump behind the decks of AVALON on April 22. Progressive selector Kristina Sky will join the Finnish superstar for a night of uplifting dance anthems and pure unadulterated fun.
“I’ve played in LA for over 20 years now and I’m extremely excited to be back again at AVALON. It’s a place I know and love and it’s always exciting because the crowd is there for the DJs and the dance music – plus the venue and the staff are top notch. LA is such a vibrant city and the energy that transcends from the club is truly special. Don’t be a stranger, come join us for a night of pure feel-good dance music.”
This is your invitation to party with Darude at AVALON, Hollywood, on April 22. Doors open 10pm.
Tickets and more information: https://www.darude.com/pages/tour
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