The video was directed by Juuso Syrjä, a.k.a. As of March 2022, the music video uploaded on YouTube via an official channel has garnered over 224 million views. The two women take the case onto a boat with Darude. Near the end, the woman with the case stumbles and one of her pursuers (the other woman) betrays her partner, knocking him out. Darude seems to appear at every place where the pursuers and the pursued go. The video for "Sandstorm" features Darude with headphones viewing two armed security guards (a man and a woman) chasing a woman with a case. Then with JS16 in his studio: Cubase on Atari 1040ST, Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler, Roland JP8080, NordLead2, Roland JV2080, Ensoniq DP4, Mackie 24/8, Behringer rack compressor.
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. "Sandstorm" is an instrumental trance composition. In a 2016 Reddit AMA interview, Darude admitted that he had never experienced an actual sandstorm but had experienced a dust devil. The title of the instrumental originates from the Roland JP-8080 synthesizer used in the song, which displays the text "sand storm" on startup. 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. This exposure was responsible for worldwide interest in "Sandstorm". ĭarude 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". JS16 signed Darude as the first artist on JS16's new label 16 Inch Records. "Sandstorm" was the first product of the collaboration, ready after about a week of work. In September–October 1999 as Darude he began collaborating with Jaakko " JS16" Salovaara, known as the producer of the Bomfunk MC's. He then performed with Wille "Weirdness" Heikkilä as "Position 1", making light Eurodance tunes, and he paired with other DJs on other projects.
ĭarude first started making happy hardcore with a music tracker program on his computer, playing gigs as "Rudeboy". The Roland JP-8080 synthesizer used in "Sandstorm" (pictured) displaying "sand storm" on its screen, from which the title is derived.