ALMOST A DECADE AFTER HIS BREAKOUT HIT “FADED,” THE GLOSSY TURNTABLIST AND PRODUCER ALAN WALKER KICKED OFF THE YEAR WITH A FRESH NEW COLLAB AND IN-HOUSE RESIDENCY AT THE LAS VEGAS LEGENDARY NIGHTCLUB, LIV
BY DAN SALAMONE
BORN: Alan Olav Walker was born on August 24, 1997, in Northampton, England.
SOUND: He can do the usual fashionably au courant electropop (in other words, a kitchen sink of every influence in EDM post-2000). It leans super pop-glossy and modern with soaring vocals, but with the pleasing occasional off-kilter touch. He can also do moody, atmospheric soundscapes, perfect for the chillout room.
BIG BREAK: In 2012 (at just 19), Walker reached out to Italian DJ David Whistle (also known as DJ Ness) to ask him for production and songwriting advice. Not long after that formative conversation, Walker started producing his own music on his laptop under the moniker DJ Walkzz. In 2014, his self released single “Fade” was so popular (over one million listens) it led to him immediately getting signed.
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In 2015, his new label released a remixed version of “Fade,” appropriately called “Faded.” Since then, the song has become one of the most-played tracks in the history of both Spotify and YouTube, with a combined 5.3 billion plays. To put that in perspective, of the 8 billion or so people on earth, only 5.35 billion of them even have access to the internet.
LATEST WORK: On January 4, 2024, Walker released a new collab, “Who I Am,” featuring Norwegian singer Peder Elias and Indonesian singer Putri Ariani. On April 26, he began his own residency in Las Vegas at the famous LIV nightclub. For a little long-playing, his full-length record Walkerworld, came out just last year.
Alan Walker