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Volume CXXXIII, Number 6 |
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Finland's Darude keeps the beat
ALEXANDER REED
STAFF WRITER
Finnish techno artist Darude (real name Ville Vertanen, and the artist behind the trance classic "Sandstorm") has set dance floors ablaze yet again with his new album Rush. As with his previous CD, Before the Storm, which topped charts in Europe and the U.S. following its 2000 release, Darude has created a masterpiece of melodic genius.
Darude is perhaps best known in the world of electronic music for his use of sound "snippets" which he is able to combine into an infectious musical theme, acting in every song as a clarion call to the dance floor. Rush fully embodies the artist's style and every song, to some degree, dually employs the use of sound snippets as well as vocals-something largely absent from Darude's previous work. "Next To You," in particular, features a sultry female voice that Darude also utilizes in a bonus track.
However, the song "Music," which kicks open the door to the Rush lineup with a short series of electric string sound snippets and a pumping bass-line, truly represents the rest of the album, and immediately hit number one on Finnish dance charts.
Epic drum build-ups, followed by cathartic returns to the melodic themes are a signature feature of Darude's music and dominate many of the most energetic songs. "Passing By" is one such song which utilizes what might otherwise be plain electronic sirens to create a melodic and rhythmic theme. Darude takes this theme to a new level in the song's interlude, with a long build-up peaked by a fresh return to the electronic snippets, which make even dancing in your seat inevitable.
If there is one difference between Rush and Before the Storm, it is the pace of the music. The tracks on Rush are much more deliberate and pointed than most of the tracks in Darude's previous album, and more easily sweep the listener to an emotional pinnacle. Before the Storm tends to send listeners or party-goers into a head-banging hurricane, while Rush sinks its sharp claws deep into listeners and produces a much more subtle yet even more energetic feeling.
So to all those seeking relaxing background music: this is not the CD for you. Rush is a double espresso, strikingly powerful, yet at the same time sophisticated and even mysterious. This is definitely not a "chill-out" album, but it is rather an energetically refined tour-de-force of a young techno artist in love with the medium.
Whether you are a beginner in the realm of European techno music or you can crack a glowstick in your sleep, this is the album for you if you want to inject some real adrenaline into a dance floor-or just pretend you are on one.
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