EDM fans race round Helsinki as DJ Darude’s hit song Sandstorm turns 25, in tribute to music video
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Participants of a fun run around locations in the video for the track Sandstorm by electronic music artiste Darude on Aug 31.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HELSINKI, Finland – Hundreds of electronic dance music (EDM) fans dressed in red and raced round Helsinki, echoing the video of Finnish DJ Darude’s hit song Sandstorm 25 years after its international release.
The crowd ran past landmarks in the clip, where a woman in a red hooded top is seen carrying a metal briefcase and trying to get away from two security guards.
“We had no idea how many people would actually just throw themselves into the whole thing and be goofy,” Darude – full name Toni-Ville Virtanen – said after the event on Aug 31.
“I know the track, every millisecond of it, but I don’t know why it has this effect,” he added. “The longevity is just almost unheard of and I’m just kind of along for the ride.”
The 50-year-old signed autographs and played tracks for fans.
Finnish electronic music artiste and producer Darude signs a piece of merchandise after a fun run around locations in the video for his track Sandstorm in Helsinki, Finland, on Aug 31.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sandstorm became an international hit in the early 2000s. In March, Billboard magazine recognised it as one of the 100 best dance songs of all time, saying its simple arrangement “takes one hard-hitting melody and loops it to high-energy heaven”.
“When I hear it, I have to dance. I don’t have any other choice,” said Finnish school teacher Mirva Voutilainen, one of the runners.
American fan Daniel Erikson took the challenge one step further and dressed up as Helsinki Cathedral, one of the sites in the video. The instrumental track had been “a fun part” of his high school years, he said.
“I probably wore the CD out in my car CD changer, driving around suburban Ohio where I grew up.”
More than 800 people braved the drizzly Nordic weather to take part, organisers said. REUTERS
