Sandstorm DJ Darude will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest

Kyle Picknell

Name me a better trance song from the early 00s than ‘Sandstorm’, I’ll wait

In fact, name me a better song full stop.

I don’t know about you, but listening to Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’ every single day for several years of my life at the turn of the millennium gave me some of the fondest memories that I have. Riding the bus to school on a Monday morning? Stick Sandstorm on and suddenly it felt like you were being blasted into space. Big sporting event you needed to get psyched up for? Not to worry, just play Sandstorm, on full volume, on repeat, and then go out there and get sent off within the first 5 minutes of the most important match you’ll ever play in because it felt like your heart was beating out of your chest from the sheer ADRENALINE the Finnish DJ had sent coursing through your nervous system by way of a Roland JP-8080.

And now this: the absolutely gigantic news that Ville Vartenen (otherwise known as Darude) will be entering the Eurovision Song Contest this year to represent Finland at the competition in Tel Aviv.

The DJ will perform one of three songs that will be decided by the country’s public during the live national selection on 2 March.

But, just for one second, imagine what Darude could turn the Eurovision into should he ignore all requests for him to play some soppy ballad co-written by a classical pianist and instead just fucking melt everyone watching at home with an extended version of Sandstorm.

You can picture it now, Graham Norton blabbering on about how the Macedonians look to have it in the bag this year when the lights dip low and the Finland national flag appears in the top corner of the screen. And then you hear it. Silence at first, but then slowly but surely, that single note on the violin that grows and grows and stirs your soul better than ‘Jerusalem’ ever could.

Beneath it, louder now, a mantra that will live on through the ages: