Darude admits to having a ‘hard time’ protecting his iconic track ‘Sandstorm’

Darude has revealed the impact of Sandstorm and the ‘overwhelming’ response from the iconic track.

In an interview with DJ Magazine, Darude breaks down the making of his iconic hit, “Sandstorm” and the challenges that have come with the highly praised tune. 

He explains that although he created the sound, once it was released, it almost became a public domain. “I’ve had hard times with that. Sort of, protecting it.” He shares that it has been wonderful to see the song generate such a big response, but it is something that he can’t control, especially if it’s placed in a meme or video that is promoting something negative. 

“I’m really okay with almost everything that brings Sandstorm back up again because it will bring people back to me, or back to whatever I do today.” He continued, “One of the coolest compliments is that Sandstorm was something that went viral before viral was a thing.” 

Darude was working on Sandstorm for about a year and a half before its release in 2001. Before its release, Darude expressed that he and his team “didn’t think it was a hit record…we had no clue of the phenomenon it would become.” 

“Sandstorm” was the first record that Darude put out that launched his global name. He revealed that he didn’t intend to become a DJ and producer; he just loved making music. During the interview, he even shared the origins of his stage name. 

Darude’s artist name came to be after he played the song “Rude Buy” by Leila K on repeat. He then started to upload tracks under the moniker Rude Boy. However, he soon changed it to The Rude after realizing the name suggests a different genre of music. When “Sandstorm” was about to be released, the graphic designer for the cover art ended up putting “DARUDE” on the poster and the rest is history.

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