Vibing Out with Darude
Not only is Darude kicking off 2023 with the new music single ‘Vibing Out’ but the Finnish music legend is also debuting his latest creative project with the launch of his audio and visual record label Vibing Out. Born of Darude’s weekly #VibingOut live-stream party hosted on Twitch, the labels aim is to showcase the same community-driven ethos, offering a platform for fresh electronic talent to be showcased to the world, to nurture impactful new music, embrace new technologies, disrupt trends and support artists, honestly and transparently. We caught up with Darude to ask him about ‘Vibing Out’, his long spanding musical career and his love of skateboarding in his downtime.
Firstly, congratulations on the release of your new absolute banger of a song ‘Outlaws’, which you recorded with House Body and Oskr. Was this the first time you all worked together? How did the collaboration come about? What was the inspiration for ‘Outlaws’?
I love ‘Outlaws’ the track, but I think I love the origin story of the track at least as much: I visited my friend, Jaakko Manninen, a.k.a. House Body, who’s a musician and video maker (8 of my music videos!) in California and we hung out in the studio and started just mucking around. We were talking like “OK so we are both dad’s, we’re both husbands, we work hard and we don’t get to play too hard too often, so what would we want to listen to if we went out to a rave like we used to?” We started throwing ideas to each other and working on these distorted 909 drum beats, stabby techno sounds and some other retro or rave-nodding things. Jaakko played a little guitar lick on top of my anthemic synth chord progression in the breakdown and we got an instrumental done in that one session. Skip forward about a year and a half and I got in touch with Oskari, who is a Finnish singer- songwriter-producer after I’d seen him take part in the Finnish song contest UMK from where the winner goes to Eurovision Song Contest and I asked him to work with me on the track. He said he loved it and in like 2-3 days he returned vocals for me and I literally wept in my studio, because he had gotten our idea of ‘the old gang back together again” so well, he nailed the lyrics and the vocals! All I had to do was basically just mix and finalize the track with his vocals and I couldn’t be happier!
‘Outlaws’ is the first track you are releasing off your new created ‘Vibing Out’ label, does this add an extra pressure or expectation for the song to be successful?
In a way yes, we definitely want both the label and the track to be successful, but I’m honestly just excited to get the track out and having other people have access to it as I’ve sat on it for quite a while. We also know that running a label is no walk in the park, we’ll have a ton of work to do for this release and the next and the next and… What I’m mostly excited about is that any pressure I’ll have is something I’ve set myself, or our team has, nobody else, no external factor or influencer.
“The music industry and the commercialism of it eventually tends to skew how and why you make music and with my own label I’m taking some of the power back”
Why did you decide to establish your own label now, what was the driving force that made you make this leap? Do you have a particular goal or an ethos you are striving to achieve with Vibing Out?
The music industry and the commercialism of it eventually tends to skew how and why you make music and with my own label I'm taking some of the power back. I want to make music purely for me – for the enjoyment of the creation and tinkering. That said, I’m not being delusional nor a hypocrite. I’m not saying there aren't some realities in play, when making music and touring is my full time job. I can and will make compromises and changes in direction and packaging if need be, but without taking those cues from anyone else this time. While I have nothing that is bad to say about the labels I’ve worked with previously as a signed or licensed artist, that way of releasing music has extra gatekeepers between me and the release. Sometimes there have been people who don’t have the same goals or understanding of what I’m about or what my career needs to maintain and grow. Releasing music on my own label takes all that out of the picture, while obviously also putting all the responsibility on our shoulders. On top of releasing my own music I’m excited to find others whose talent surpasses mine and whose outlook on music matches ours. For other artists, we’re striving to be a transparent and helpful partner with great connections and tailored paths. And hopefully a great partner at the start of a beautiful career for the new ones we come across.
‘Vibing Out’ is also the name of your weekly live streaming party which allows you to connect directly with fans, was there a pivotal moment that motivated you to start doing the show?
I started streaming on Twitch in 2015. I did various studio sessions like “how to make a kick drum” or “final-mixing a track.” I made a couple of tracks and remixes in real-time on air, sampled hardware synths, did gear reviews, open-ended Q&As, etc. – sometimes three times a week, sometimes once a month. When the pandemic started, I started doing regular In Da Studio sessions on Mondays, a chat/peer talk Dial It In stream on Wednesdays and Vibing Out DJ stream on Fridays. It stemmed from all of a sudden having the time, plus a HUGE need to connect with the fans when I didn’t have gigs. It felt great – still does. I’m around the 3-year mark now and I feel very thankful for the Twitch and Vibing Out community we’ve created. I have amazing mods (moderators), about 100 regulars I consider friends, and several hundred people I recognise by their handle.
I started DJing and the streaming situation – me being in the room alone, choosing to sit down, not trying to make it club-like – steered me to a bit different kind of DJing experience than my usual live sets. It made me dig deeper into broader genre selection and I learned that people didn’t need constant energy like my live sets usually are. They like listening to the music and feeling the “vibe” and I loved it. As the gig market wasn’t opening any time soon, that also made me think about music-making differently. It’s all because of the circumstances, but definitely because of my live stream crowd, too. That’s why I’m calling the new label Vibing Out – named after the stream and the amazing community we’ve created. Those Fridays are a safe place for everyone – you only need to love music and connecting with people around it. My Darudians are the most loving, generous and accepting bunch there is!
What can fans expect when tuning into ‘Vibing Out’?
They’ll get me playing tunes and reading the chat, sometimes yapping away too much, interacting surely with my regulars, but also the newcomers. I answer (good) questions, laugh about dumb dad jokes (a thing on the channel) and share my insights on the industry and other personal matters here and there. When you come in once, you become a regular – you’ve been warned. ;)
“I love Australia and Aussies! I love the lax attitude yet things happen on time, and I love the willingness to party! I don’t think I’ve had a bad gig downunder! <3”
You toured here in June and then again in early January, is it safe to say you like spending time downunder? Is there an affinity you have with Australia?
I love Australia and Aussies! I love the lax attitude yet things happen on time, and I love the willingness to party! I don’t think I’ve had a bad gig downunder! <3
Will we be seeing you here again soon for more live shows?
I played in Australia in June and December 2022 / January 2023, so I'm not sure at the moment when I’ll get to come back – hopefully soon!
“Skating for sure helps the stuck legs and back and also invigorates the brain!”
You’re an avid skateboarder and you visit skateparks all over the world when you’re on tour, so does this make up for the travel, airports, hotel rooms and all the other tedious things that come along with touring?
Skating for sure helps the stuck legs and back and also invigorates the brain! I had a long pause in skating, got back to it like 5 years ago and I’m just in awe of these adult (well, kid, too) playgrounds everywhere! It’s the easiest, you just walk or take an Uber to a park, pad up, go! Even half an hour is just awesome, and in some places I might have down days and I can explore a park or two or three, and really get into it. Love it!
How do our skateparks compare to others around the world?
Aussie parks are AWESOME! I’ve loved the smaller ramp at Monster in Sydney, St. Kilda in Melbourne and Leederville in Perth, to name a few. Paddington and Coorparoo in Brisbane were nice, too!
“I have a relationship with Napalm Custom, a Finnish skateboard company who makes these amazing Canadian maple-carbon fibre hybrid boards ”
Will we see a Darude skateboard line soon or a collaboration with one of the big companies like Santa Cruz, Alien Workshop, or Element?
HAHAHAHA, I wish! I’m thinking my age and skill level is not exactly a huge pull for sponsorship or collaboration in the skate world. :D That said, I have a relationship with Napalm Custom, a Finnish skateboard company who makes these amazing Canadian maple-carbon fibre hybrid boards and also I’ve befriended and couple of skaters like Andy Anderson, who gave me a whole complete setup last year, the exact same setup he rides, with the Dragon wheels and his then upcoming Powell Peralta Heron 2 board prototype and all, plus hooked me up with Etnies, who just released Andy’s signature shoe, the Windrow Vulc Mid X Rebel Sports. I love the shoes, and nobody tells me to say so – I’m just a happy user!
You use a stage name to record under so what are the origins of the name Darude? Where did it come from and why did you decide use it?
When I was studying my first year in Turku Polytechnic we had a party at my classmate's apartment. We were eating and drinking and playing records and I guess I was feeling really, ummm, "happy" as I played one favourite track of mine of that time, 'Rudeboys' by Leila K, several times in a row. In short, it's because of that my friends started kind of mockingly calling me 'Rudeboy'. I started using that as a nickname online and as my artist name when I started making music. Later on it was shortened to 'da Rude' (I didn't wanna be a 'boy' ;) ) which was then put together by the graphic artist Sampo Hänninen when the single cover for my first single 'Sandstorm' was made; it looked visually better like that so... 'Darude'.
Being an Artist and a label owner, what are your thoughts on streaming services? Are they helping or hurting the industry?
Oh boy. It’s the best time EVER to be a music fan, that’s for sure. Streaming services do get a lot of flak and especially if you happened to be under an old record contract where your percentage and conditions were crappy (and the label not willingly adjusting those), you would get near zero from even big tracks. Through streaming and near-free access to music, it has become much more like a business card for artists, something you sell gigs and merch with, not something you sell in itself, and it seems it’s devalued music greatly, IMHO. That said, I’m in the game myself and also starting a label that will use streaming platforms as a means to distribute music, so the flip side of it is that almost everyone has had to change their ways of thinking and their business models to better fit the modern times. Discoverability and potential exposure can be huge, if you have a great piece of music and if you get picked to a big playlist. ‘IF’. Just the ‘if’ and the potential exposure don’t pay much, though, especially if you are not a performing artist, but “only” a writer behind the scenes, so there are definite downsides to the changes from the early days when physical sales were still the thing. There are upsides, too, like I previously mentioned. You can find anything and everything in a few seconds and discover similar new music like never before, and you can also be an independent artist and put out your own music yourself very quickly and with very little expenses (but whether or not that gets to be heard by the masses, that’s up to you, your marketing chops – and healthy dose of luck).
“Getting to be the Finnish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest was an incredible honour ”
In 2019 you represented your home country of Finland at Eurovision, what was that whole experience like, from writing the song to performing for over 200 million people?
Getting to be the Finnish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest was an incredible honour and an incredible ride I got to share with my brother Sebastian Rejman, and of course all the other people involved like my background singers, dancers, and the YLE team. It is definitely a part song contest and part music festival type of thing. I think everyone goes there and wants to do well, and wants to win, but at the same time there wasn’t any nasty competition vibe or anything like that. It’s called Eurovision bubble, and that’s what it feels like when you’re in this one big love bubble where everybody’s just so happy and having fun and supporting each other. I made a lot of new friends and contacts there, and some I’ve stayed in touch with and some I have made some music with, too. It’s organized in different countries every year and it is one of the most massive TV productions there are on the planet. Planning the event takes a full year. You always get the best of the best producers, visuals, lighting, sound, etc. as it needs to look good both on TV and live at the venue. From the get-go here in Finland we practiced to make our show the best it can be. We then had some of those people with us in Tel Aviv at the actual Eurovision Song Contest and we tried our best to represent our home country. I definitely will have that experience as one of the big ones in my book of amazing memories.
You have played at some of the worlds biggest festivals including Tomorrowland, Dancefestopia and the Future Music Festival, so what is your all-time favourite memory from a festival?
There are soooooo many, but I’ll be patriotic here: I played a NYE gig in Finland December 31st 2016 to kick of the 100th anniversary of Finland. I got to change the year by timing Sandstorm drop to midnight and that was simply amazing. What was also pretty cool was that later on in that set, I sampled about 100000 people screaming ‘We Love Suomi!’ (‘Suomi’ is Finland in our language) and put it on top of a track on the fly, then played it back to the people who went nuts realizing we made a track together – and they were imprinted on the track forever! :)
“Festivals obviously with the bigger crowds are really cool and exhilarating usually, and clubs you can take your time a bit more and take some risks”
Do you prepare differently for a show as opposed to a festival? Do you have a preference?
Meaning a club show vs. festival? I usually have an active tracklist of the moment of 150-200 tracks of which I pull what I’ll play. A festival set is usually shorter, so I’ll have a think beforehand which tracks to keep and which ones to save for the longer set. You usually have go quicker to the point and keep the energy up all thru the shorter festival set and you can build some more, drop energy a bit once or twice in a longer set. Both are great. Festivals obviously with the bigger crowds are really cool and exhilarating usually, and clubs you can take your time a bit more and take some risks, too, as you’ll have time to bring people back, if something is not working 100% how you want to.
From your back catalogue do you have a favourite track or album and if so, what makes that one so special?
You got kids? Which one is the most loved one? ;) ‘Before The Storm’ started it all, so it’s special that way. It was formed very much just by doing it, not thinking too much at all. The second one, ‘Rush’, I’m very happy about, it’s a solid album and a great follow up for ‘BTS’. It’s still trancey, but having a bit more variation as we didn’t feel like just repeating what we’d done earlier. ‘Label This!’ was the first one I produced alone, so that marked my own production chops getting to a level where I felt I didn’t need help with it anymore. Making ‘Moments’ I again invited a couple of other producers to join me as I wanted to add certain sounds and stylistic things they were great at, as I’d learned that I’m not that great at EVERYTHING. :)
What’s been the highlight in your career so far personally? And why?
Uuf… Tough to say. I mean Sandstorm UK #3 in 2000? Sort of biggest thing chart position wise… But I didn’t even understand it’s importance then. It was just “cool,” but I didn’t know how meaningful it was. I was too new, too “wet behind the ears.” Also, maybe Eurovision. We didn’t do too well in the ESC in the end, but that was definitely a culmination of my garnered live performance experience, writing and production skills, plus it was definitely a bit out of my wheelhouse. Yet I took the challenge and gave my everything. You can think whatever you like about the actual song we made, but the entire experience was 8 months from start to finish and included numerous studio sessions, planning meetings, practices, pre-parties, a couple hundred interviews and tons of elbow rubbing. Going through those practice runs and the actual live TV show in Tel Aviv were surreal, huge, but at the same time we knew what we were doing and did it as best as we could. We were happy and proud to take part and it was great to be a part of that group.
“My wife, the ‘Facilitator of Everything’, that’s her title. She runs the home front when I’m on the road and we’re in this together in every way”
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
My wife, the ‘Facilitator of Everything’, that's her title. She runs the home front when I’m on the road and we’re in this together in every way. While we talk about it all and make decisions about my career together, she is the one running the business behind the music – all the publishing and label backend – like starting the new label, determining release schedules, coordinating with the legal, marketing and PR teams, and reminding me of deadlines and so on. On the road, my organiser, alarm clock, soundcheck tech and travel companion and coordinator of local promo and such is Ryan, who’s been with me for soon a decade. Then I have my digital marketing and PR teams who make me look and sound cool to the general public. ;) And of course, I can’t forget to mention my booking agents, who represent me and book the shows and festivals that bring me to play for all of you beautiful people. Altogether they make a really great team without whom I’d have to do bazillion things poorly by myself, and I’d not even scratch the surface, let alone have time for music!
What does the future hold for Darude? Where would you like to see yourself, your career and your label in five years’ time?
I don’t like that question as it makes me think and project too hard! :D I’d like to still be touring as much as I’d feel like and to keep releasing more music, and that our label would’ve had a couple of big ones by that time and we will have helped some new artists find their own path in this business.
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‘Vibing Out’ Single Cover Art
Interview by Michelle Symes
March 2023