Sandstorm (Darude composition)

"Sandstorm"
Single by Darude
from the album Before the Storm
B-side Remixes
Released 26 October 1999[1]
Format
Recorded 1999 at JS16 Studios (Finland)
Genre Trance
Length
  • 7:26 (original mix)
  • 3:45 (radio edit)
Label
Writer(s) Ville Virtanen
Producer(s) JS16
Darude singles chronology
"Sandstorm"
(1999)
"Feel the Beat"
(2000)
Music sample
"Sandstorm"

"Sandstorm" is a musical composition by Finnish DJ and record producer Darude. It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album Before the Storm. It was initially released in Finland on 26 October 1999 by 16 Inch Records and it was eventually re-released in many other countries in 2000. The song was uploaded to MP3.com where it gained global recognition. It has also gained recognition for its usage in sports and popularity in internet meme culture. On 1 March 2010, over ten years after its original release, "Sandstorm" was certified Gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 500,000 copies.[2]

Background

Darude first started making happy hardcore with a music tracker program on his computer, playing gigs as "Rudeboy".[3] He then performed with Wille "Weirdness" Heikkilä as "Position 1", making light Eurodance tunes, and he paired with other DJs on other projects. In September–October 1999[3] as Darude he began collaborating with Jaakko "JS16" Salovaara, known as the producer of the Bomfunk MC's.[4] "Sandstorm" was the first product of the collaboration, ready after about a week of work. JS16 signed Darude as the first artist on JS16's new label 16 Inch Records.[3]

Darude had been uploading various pieces of his trance experimentation on the website MP3.com, where he was building a following, and he also uploaded the full-length demo of "Sandstorm". This exposure was responsible for worldwide interest in "Sandstorm".[5] In 2000, Darude reported on his mp3.com artist's page that he had "removed the full-length tracks" of "Sandstorm" at the request of his record company.[6]

In a 2016 Reddit AMA interview, Darude admitted that he had never experienced an actual sandstorm but had experienced a dust devil.[7]

Composition

"Sandstorm" is an instrumental trance composition.[4][8][9] According to Darude, the hardware and software used to make the track are as follows: P2, Cubase VST 32, FastTracker 2, ReBirth, Korg TR-Rack. Then with JS16 in his studio: Cubase on Atari ST1024, Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler, Roland JP8080, NordLead2, Roland JV2080, Ensoniq DP4, Mackie 24/8, Behringer rack compressor.[10]

Music video

The video for "Sandstorm" features Darude with headphones viewing two armed security guards (a man and a woman) chasing a woman with a case. Darude seems to appear at every place the pursuers and the pursued go. Near the end, the woman with the case stumbles and one of her pursuers (the other woman) betrays her partner, knocking him out. The two women take the case onto a boat with Darude. An unofficially-uploaded version of the music video was uploaded on YouTube on 5 March 2006 and has garnered over 47 million views,[11] while the officially-uploaded version on Darude's channel has garnered over 50 million views.[12]

The video was directed by Juuso Syrjä, a.k.a Uzi,[13] and was shot in various places in Helsinki, including the Helsinki Cathedral and the Senate Square.[14] It became the first Finnish music video shown on MTV in the US and it received several awards in Finland and on MTV.[13]

Usage in media

In film and television

"Sandstorm" appeared on the pilot episode of popular Showtime series Queer as Folk, which first aired on 3 December 2000.[15] The song has appeared in the comedy movie (2005 remake) Fun with Dick and Jane. In 2013 it appeared in the drama film Filth and in Under the Skin (during the discothèque scene). On a Finnish TV-show called "Far Out" two contestants named Tatu and Eeka travelled to Budapest where their assignment was to play music with gypsies. They ended up with making their own version of Sandstorm called "Sandström" together with two Hungarian musicians.[16] The song was also used in the 2001 Finnish film Tango Cabaret (Tango Kabaree).[17]

In sports

In 2009, "Sandstorm" was played for the first time at the University of South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium during a Gamecocks football game. While it was actually played by accident during the waning minutes of the Gamecocks' victory over Ole Miss, it has become a rallying anthem for South Carolina fans.[18][19]

Professional wrestler Toru Owashi,[20] mixed martial artist Wanderlei Silva, and Boston Red Sox pitcher Koji Uehara use "Sandstorm" as entrance music. It was also played at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and during the Ice Hockey World Championships. Nike used the composition in an advertisement series featuring the basketball opponents Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.[5] The song was also used as the theme for the finals parade at the 2011 British Judo Championships (Pre Cadet and Cadet) held in Sheffield, England. Cambridge United FC use Sandstorm as the music that plays when the teams come out onto the field of play before the match begins.

Internet phenomenon

The popularity of the song as background music for those who stream their video gaming on the Twitch.tv platform led to a meme that any question asking for the name of a song was replied to with the comment "Darude – Sandstorm."[21]

As an April Fools' Day joke on 1 April 2015, YouTube displayed the message "Did you mean: Darude – Sandstorm by Darude" for all video search queries involving music, in addition to adding a button which played the tune during a video.[22][23]

Track listing

  1. "Sandstorm" (Radio Edit) – 3:46
  2. "Sandstorm" (Original Mix) – 7:26
  3. "Sandstorm" (JS16 Remix) – 7:21
  1. "Sandstorm" (Radio Edit) – 3:49
  2. "Sandstorm" (Extended) – 7:26
  3. "Sandstorm" (Dallas Superstarts Remix) – 8:24
  4. "Sandstorm" (Komytea Radio Remix) – 3:54
  5. "Sandstorm" (Komytea Remix) – 7:40
  6. "Sandstorm" (DJ Ray Aka Tom Hafman Remix) – 7:13
  7. "Sandstorm" (Superchumbo's Sandy Storm) – 8:38
  8. "Sandstorm" (Jan Driver Remix) – 6:16

Charts and certifications

Chart performance

Soon after release, "Sandstorm" became popular on pop radio stations, reaching number one in Norway.[25] Its sales worldwide eventually reached 2 million, and it was featured on 200 compilations.[5]

Charts

Chart (1999–2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[26] 40
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[27] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[29] 36
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart)[30] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[31] 8
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 3
France (SNEP)[33] 14
Germany (Official German Charts)[34] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[35] 3
Italy (FIMI)[36] 49
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[39] 26
Norway (VG-lista)[25] 1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[40] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[43] 3
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[44] 1
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[45] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 83
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[30] 5
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[30] 11
US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[30] 36
US Billboard Top 40 Tracks[30] 38

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[46] Platinum 13,025[46]
Germany (BVMI)[47] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[48] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 600,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[2] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"It Feels So Good" by Sonique
Norwegian number-one single
27 July 2000 – 31 August 2000 (5 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Music" by Madonna

References

  1. "Darude – Sandstorm (single)". Darude.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 "American single certifications – Darude – Sandstorm". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  3. 1 2 3 Niemelä, Antti. Darude interview at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 January 2001). Findance.
  4. 1 2 Darude – Discography at the Wayback Machine (archived 6 March 2001). Findance.
  5. 1 2 3 Burcher 2012, pp. 146–7.
  6. Darude at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 May 2000). MP3.com.
  7. Hooton, Christopher (27 July 2016). "Darude admits he's never actually been in a sandstorm". The Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  8. Sirén, Vesa (8 February 2003). "Finland's biggest foreign hits are composed by...". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  9. "Sandstorm Lyrics". MetroLyrics. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  10. "I am Darude. AMA! (self.Music)". Reddit.
  11. "Sandstorm" on YouTube
  12. "Darude - Sandstorm" on YouTube
  13. 1 2 "Ohjaaja muistelee – näin syntyi maailmaa säväyttäneen Daruden Sandstormin musiikkivideo!" (in Finnish). Nelonen. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  14. "Myrskyisä pako läpi Helsingin katujen" (PDF). Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 16 November 2000.
  15. Season 1 at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 June 2003). Princessofbabylon.com.
  16. "Tatu & Eeka - Sandström" on YouTube
  17. "Tango Kabaree (2001)" (in Finnish). Elonet. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  18. Kendall, Josh (2013). 100 Things South Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-60078-850-5.
  19. Kearns, Taylor (30 November 2010). "USC students, fans make "Sandstorm" their unofficial anthem". WIS. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  20. (Japanese) Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 February 2007). Dramatic Dream Team.
  21. Higgins, Chris (2 April 2015). "Darude on making the only song in eSports". Red Bull. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  22. Baroni, Nastassia (2 April 2015). "YouTube Are Pulling An Amazing April Fools Gag With Help From Darude". Music Feeds. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  23. Hooton, Christopher (1 April 2015). "YouTube adds a 'Darude Sandstorm' button to all videos". The Independent. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  24. "Sandstorm (The Remixes) – EP". iTunes. Retrieved November 17, 2015..
  25. 1 2 "Norwegiancharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  26. "Australian-charts.com – Darude – Sandstorm". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  27. "Austriancharts.at – Darude – Sandstorm" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  28. "Ultratop.be – Darude – Sandstorm" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  29. "Ultratop.be – Darude – Sandstorm" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Darude – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  31. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 112 (28): 47. 8 July 2000. ISSN 0006-2510..
  32. "Darude: Sandstorm" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  33. "Lescharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  34. "Offiziellecharts.de – Darude – Sandstorm". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  35. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sandstorm". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  36. "Italiancharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  37. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Darude - Sandstorm search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  38. "Dutchcharts.nl – Darude – Sandstorm" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  39. "Charts.org.nz – Darude – Sandstorm / Feel The Beat". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  40. "Spanishcharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  41. "Swedishcharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  42. "Swisscharts.com – Darude – Sandstorm". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  43. "Archive Chart: 2000-06-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  44. "Archive Chart: 2000-04-09" UK Dance Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  45. "Archive Chart: 2000-06-18" UK Indie Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  46. 1 2 "Darude" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  47. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Darude; 'Sandstorm')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  48. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  49. "British single certifications – Darude – Sandstorm". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Sandstorm in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search

Bibliography

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