Alan Walker (music producer)

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Alan Walker

Walker in 2016

Background information

Birth name Alan Olav Walker

 DJ Walkzz
Also known as
 Walkzz

Born 24 August 1997 (age 21)[1]

Northampton, England

Origin Bergen, Norway

Genres  Electro house

 progressive house
  big room house[2]

 deep house

Occupation(s)  DJ

 Record producer

Instruments  Digital audio workstation

 keyboard

 piano

Years active 2012–present

Labels  MER

 Sony

 DM

 RCA

 NCS

 Ultra

Website alanwalker.no

Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a Norwegian DJ and record producer.[2] He is best
known for his 2015 single "Faded", which received platinum certifications in over 10 countries.
He was ranked 36th on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs list of 2018, placing 19 positions lower than the
previous year.[3]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.12012–15: Debut on NoCopyrightSounds and "Faded"
o 2.22016: Live performances, "Sing Me to Sleep" and "Alone"
o 2.32017: "Tired", "The Spectre" and "All Falls Down"
o 2.42018–present: "Darkside", "Diamond Heart" and "Different
World"
 3Public image
 4Discography
 5Tour
 6Awards and nominations
 7References
 8External links

Early life[edit]
Walker is the son of Hilde Omdal Walker, a Norwegian, and Philip Alan Walker, an
Englishman.[4][5] By birth, he was granted dual citizenship, both in Norway and the United
Kingdom on the basis of his parental origin. At the age of two, he moved to Bergen,[2]Norway with
his parents and sister.[6] Walker grew up with two siblings, an older sister, Camilla, born in
England, and a younger brother, Andreas, born in Norway.
Growing up in the digital era, Walker found an early interest in computers, which later turned into
a fascination for programming and graphic design. He initially had no musical background;
however, he later taught himself by watching tutorials on YouTube based on music production.[7]

Career[edit]
2012–15: Debut on NoCopyrightSounds and "Faded"[edit]
In 2012, Walker, was listening to a song by (then known as DJ Ness), and reached out to the
Italian DJ to find out how he produced his music. He was inspired by EDM producers K-391 and
Ahrix, and is also influenced by film composers like Hans Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky.[8] He
started all his music on his laptop with FL Studio. In July 2012, with the help and feedback from
his fans online, he began pursuing his music production career and slowly began posting his
music to YouTube and SoundCloud. Started as a bedroom producer, he was better known as DJ
Walkzz before signing a record contract and releasing his debut single in 2014.
Walker released the track "Fade" on 17 August 2014.[9] The track gained attention after its re-
release via the record label NoCopyrightSounds on 19 November.[10] Walker stated that the
creation of the track was inspired by K-391 and Ahrix, whose tracks were also picked up by the
record label. The track has over 300 million views on YouTube,[11] 79 million plays
on Spotify,[12] and 20 million streams on SoundCloud.[13] It has become the most popular track on
the channel, and is widely used by YouTubers in their videos. The tracks "Spectre" and "Force"
followed in 2015.
Walker signed with MER Musikk under Sony Music Sweden and his next single, "Faded", was a
remastered vocal version of "Fade". It was released on 8 December and featured
uncredited Naustdal pop singer Iselin Solheim.[14] The single topped the year-end charts in
Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, iTunes charts in 32 countries, as well as entering
top 10 in Spotify Global Chart. The music video on YouTube has over 2 billion views and
13 million likes,[15] placing it among the top 10 most liked YouTube videos. It has over 780 million
plays on Spotify,[16] and is also one of the Top 10 Most Shazamed tracks of 2016.[17] The single
also received official remixes from Tiësto,[18] Dash Berlin and Hardwell. He later released an
acoustic "restrung" version of the song, with all the EDM elements taken out.[19]
2016: Live performances, "Sing Me to Sleep" and "Alone"[edit]
Walker quit high school in January to pursue his music career.[20]
On 27 February, Walker made his live performance debut at the Winter X Games in Oslo, where
he performed 15 tracks including the song "Faded" together with Iselin Solheim.[21][22]
By March, Walker had produced 30 to 40 songs in total, but "Faded" marks his first single with
Sony Music Sweden, and the first to achieve such global success.[17]
On 7 April, Walker teamed up with Swedish singer Zara Larsson at the Echo Awards in
Germany. Together they performed each other's songs "Faded" and "Never Forget You".[23]Four
weeks previously, he achieved the first place on NRJ Euro Hot 30 for the first time, which only
has been achieved by one other Norwegian artist, Kygo.[24]
The single "Sing Me to Sleep" was released on 3 June, featuring female vocalist Iselin Solheim,
the same vocalist in "Faded". The song topped iTunes charts in 7 countries. Its music video on
YouTube has over 400 million views,[25] and it also reached 170 million plays on Spotify.[26]
The single "Alone" was released on 1. December, featuring uncredited Swedish singer Noonie
Bao.[27] The music video on YouTube has over 740 million views,[28] the track also gained over
210 million plays on Spotify.[29] The song was described as "the final piece of a trilogy consisting
of 'Faded', 'Sing Me To Sleep' and 'Alone'" by Gunnar Greeve, Walker's manager and co-writer
for the single.[30]
Walker at Stavernfestivalen in Norway 2016

On 21 and 22 December, Walker held the concert "Alan Walker is Heading Home" in his
hometown Bergen for the first time at USF Verftet, where he performed 16 songs and tracks
together with Angelina Jordan, Marius Samuelsen, Alexandra Rotan, Yosef Wolde-
Mariam and Tove Styrke as singers.[31][32] The concert was officially live-streamed on
YouTube.[33] He premiered several unreleased tracks, including a restrung version of "Sing Me to
Sleep", as well as "Sky" and "Heading Home", the latter of which was first performed during his
debut at Winter X Games. The song "The Spectre", a remastered version of his earlier track
"Spectre", was also performed during the concert.
On 23 December, Walker released the video for the single "Routine", which premiered on his
concert in Bergen, two days before and some concerts on the "Walker Tour". The track was
made in collaboration with David Whistle. Its music video on YouTube has over 30 million
views,[34] and 23 million plays on Spotify.[35]
2017: "Tired", "The Spectre" and "All Falls Down"[edit]
At the beginning of 2017, Walker's YouTube channel became the most subscribed channel
registered in Norway, after passing about 4.5 million subscribers, and had the most views among
Norwegian YouTubers at around 3.4 billion views as of 10 February 2018.[36][2]
On 7 April, Walker released the song "Ignite" instrumental version, which featured Norwegian
music producer and songwriter K-391. It was released as a promotion of the launch of the Sony
Xperia XZs smartphone. On 19 May, Walker released his first song with a male vocalist, Irish
singer-songwriter Gavin James, titled "Tired". Walker said that the song "adds another
dimension" to his productions. Its music video on YouTube has over 102 million views.[37] On 9
June, his collaboration with Dane Alex Skrindo, "Sky", was released on the
compilation, Insomniac Records Presents: EDC Las Vegas 2017. Its music video on YouTube
has over 36 million views.[38]
On 15 September, he released "The Spectre", a revamped version with vocals of his 2015 single
"Spectre". The video depicts footage of his concerts, along with a team of dancers dressed in
white jumpsuits and black helmets. The video currently has over 430 million views.
On 27 October, Walker released the song "All Falls Down", which featured American
singer Noah Cyrus and British DJ and record producer Digital Farm Animals. The video storyline
follows the visual for his previous song "Tired". Its YouTube music video has been viewed over
132 million times.[39][40]
2018–present: "Darkside", "Diamond Heart" and "Different World"[edit]
During this year, Walker became the top YouTuber in Norway with 15 million subscribers.[41] On
16 January, in an interview with Fuse, Walker revealed that an upcoming album is coming later in
the year. "It's still in progress, not ready," Walker said. "I can't tell you much about features on it
or anything yet, but I'm really, really excited about this one."[42]
On 11 May, Walker and Norwegian music producer K-391 (Kenneth Nilsen) released "Ignite"
vocal version, which featured Norwegian singer Julie Bergan and South
Korean singer Seungri.[43][44][45] The music video was released on 12 May on K-391's YouTube
channel, because Nilsen was the lead artist of this single.[43] Its YouTube music video has been
viewed over 100 million times.[46][47]
On 27 July, Walker released "Darkside", featuring Au/Ra from Ibiza and Norwegian singer
Tomine Harket.[48]
On 30 August, Walker released a remix of "Sheep" by Exo member Lay.[49]
On 28 September, he released the single "Diamond Heart" featuring Sophia Somajo.[50]
On 30 November, Walker released the single "Different World" from his upcoming debut studio
album of the same name, which was released on 14 December.[51] It contains the following new
songs: Lost Control (featuring Sorana), I Don't Wanna Go (featuring Julie Bergan), Lily
(featuring K-391 and Emelie Hollow), Lonely (featuring Steve Aoki, ISAK and Omar Noir) and Do
It All For You (featuring Trevor Guthrie).[52]

Public image[edit]
This section may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with
Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion pagemay contain
suggestions. (May 2018)

Logo made by letter A and W. Derivative versions in different colors are used by Alan Walker

Walker at WMA, with an outfit resembling a black bloc protester

Walker was originally known as "DJ Walkzz". Since he has been a part of many producing
groups, he later became just "Walkzz". He ended up using his real name, Alan Walker, as his
artist name. The recognisable logo consists of intertwined letters "A" and "W", the initials of his
name, was designed by Walker himself in 2013.[53] He also uses a hoodie and face mask
resembling the concept of black bloc on stage to create the rest of the image.[54]
"At the very beginning, we were thinking about ideas like how can we promote Alan Walker as an
artist, and then we created a symbol that's kind of almost attach anyone. Therefore, you can just
have the hoodie and the mask and you immediately become a 'Walker'. That's also a sign of no
matter who you are, you can be a 'Walker', we're all equal." Walker explained the concept of his
look, in an interview by KKBox.[55] When asked in an interview by NRK, why he used the mask,
he said: "It is to keep a low profile while maintaining the public image they have given me. I think
it's pretty cool. A little twist that makes people ask themselves questions about who really is the
person behind Alan Walker", and added, "Basically, all of the data-world, focus on anonymity.
Anyone can join Alan Walker, and the masks show that they can be anyone."[54]
In the first promo pictures his management handed out, Walker's face was barely visible at all.
Also in the music video for his single "Alone", he is dressed as a black shadow figure. This is,
according to the artist himself, a carefully planned image drawn up together with the record
company Sony. "In a meeting with them we talked about how we could build the profile of Alan
Walker", said Walker to the newspaper VG. "They asked about my interests. I replied
PC, computer gaming and stuff like Anonymous and computer hacking where hoodies play a
role."[56]
At a press conference on 9 November 2016, Walker said: "The concept with the mask is very
cool, that is inspired by the hacker group "Anonymous" and the television series Mr. Robot. I
have a background as a gamer and kept on with it before I started with music. By taking on a
mask I can be immediately seen as a gamer."[57]
"A lot of people ask me why I am wearing a mask. The mask is more of a sign and a symbol of
unity and being alike each other, rather than me being different." said Walker, behind the scenes
of the single "Alone".[58][59]

Discography[edit]
Main article: Alan Walker discography

 Different World (2018)

Tour[edit]
Headlining

 The Walker Tour (2016–2018)

 World of Walker Tour (2018)
 Different World Tour (2018-2019)[60]
Supporting

 Rihanna – Anti World Tour (2016)[61]

 Justin Bieber – Purpose World Tour (2017)[62]
 Martin Garrix – Thursdays at Ushuaïa[63]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Alan Walker

References[edit]
1. ^ Litleskare, Tord (8 December 2017). "Feirer bursdagen i
hjembyen med massivt show". gaffa.no (in Norwegian). GAFFA.
Retrieved 10 October 2018.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "Alan Walker talks fame, gaming and music-
making". DJ Mag. 11 March 2018.
3. ^ DJ Mag staff; Guttridge-Hewitt, Martin (11 October 2018). "Alan
Walker". DJ Mag. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
4. ^ "Spellemannprisen 2016, Årets låt - Faded". NRK. Retrieved 28
February 2018.
5. ^ "Alan Walker: Unmasked (Episode 3)". Alan Walker on
YouTube. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
6. ^ "Alan Walker droppar maska". NRK. 9 November 2016.
7. ^ "Alan Walker - Q&A #1". YouTube. 12 August 2016.
8. ^ Alan Walker (10 February 2016), Alan Walker - Interview No. 1
(Behind The Scenes), retrieved 2 February 2017
9. ^ Alan Walker (17 August 2014), Alan Walker - Fade, retrieved 6
February 2017
10. ^ NoCopyrightSounds (19 November 2014), Alan Walker - Fade
[NCS Release], retrieved 6 February 2017
11. ^ "Alan Walker - Fade". YouTube. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
12. ^ "Fade - Alan Walker". Spotify. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
13. ^ "Alan Walker - Fade [NCS Release]". SoundCloud. Retrieved 17
January 2017.
14. ^ "Best Songs We Heard This Week: Jeremih, The 1975, Alan
Walker + More".
15. ^ "Alan Walker - Faded". YouTube. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
16. ^ "Faded - Alan Walker". Spotify. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b Blake, Emily. "Alan Walker, the 18-year-old behind
that 'Faded' song, tells us what's next".
18. ^ "Alan Walker: From Bedroom Producer to Official Sia
Remixer". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
19. ^ Alan Walker (11 February 2016), Alan Walker - Faded
(Restrung), retrieved 2 February2017
20. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Interview with 'Faded' hit maker Alan Walker".
Retrieved 18 January2017 – via CelebMix.
21. ^ "DJ Alan Walker celebrates X Games Oslo". X Games. ESPN. 1
March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
22. ^ "Alan Walker @ X Games Oslo 2016 - Live Tracklist". 2 April
2016.
23. ^ "Big in Germany: Se Alan Walker feat. Zara Larsson på tyske
Grammy's".
24. ^ "Se Zara Larsson gjøre Alan Walkers Faded" [See Zara Larsson
do Alan Walker's Faded]. NRJ.no (in Norwegian). 4 November
2016.
25. ^ "Alan Walker - Sing Me to Sleep". YouTube. Retrieved 17
January 2017.
26. ^ "Sing Me To Sleep - Alan Walker". Spotify. Retrieved 10
December 2016.
27. ^ "Se Alan Walkers Ulriken-video her. Nå skal den ut til hele
verden". Bergens Tidende. bt.no. December 2, 2016.
28. ^ "Alan Walker - Alone". YouTube.
29. ^ "Alone - Alan Walker". Spotify. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
30. ^ "Alan Walker - The Making of Alone (Behind The
Scenes)". YouTube. Alan Walker.
31. ^ Alan Walker (11 January 2017). "Alan Walker - Alone (Live
Performance)" – via YouTube.
32. ^ "Alan Walker is Heading Home Bergen, Norway 2016 - Live
Tracklist". 22 December 2016.
33. ^ "Alan Walker is Heading Home".
34. ^ Alan Walker (23 December 2016), Alan Walker x David Whistle -
Routine, retrieved 3 February 2017
35. ^ "Routine - Alan Walker". Spotify. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
36. ^ "Toppliste for norske Youtubere – Nordic Screens".
37. ^ "Alan Walker ft. Gavin James - Tired". YouTube. 19 May 2017.
Retrieved 28 June2017.
38. ^ Matthew Meadow (7 June 2017). "Alan Walker Drops New Track
on EDC Compilation with Alex Skrindo". Your EDM. Retrieved 9
June 2017.
39. ^ "Alan Walker Brings the Feel-Good Vibes With Noah Cyrus &
Digital Farm Animals on 'All Falls Down'". Billboard. Tatiana
Cirisano. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
40. ^ "Alan Walker - All Falls Down (feat. Noah Cyrus with Digital
Farm Animals)". YouTube. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 15
September 2018.
41. ^ "Norway's All Time Most Subscribed YouTube Channels".
Dbase. 11 June 2018.
42. ^ "Noah Cyrus and Alan Walker Talk Their Single 'All Falls Down'
and Global Domination". Fuse. 16 January 2018.
43. ^ Jump up to:a b "K-391 and Alan Walker Releases Gorgeous
Vocal Version of 'Ignite'". EDM Sauce. 11 May 2018.
44. ^ "Innovative artist concept K-391 releases debut single, "Ignite"
featuring Alan Walker, Julie Bergan and Seungri". Vents
Magazine. 11 May 2018.
45. ^ "BIGBANG's Seungri Teams Up With DJ Alan Walker And Julie
Bergan For Special Collaboration". soompi. 9 May 2018.
46. ^ "Alan Walker & K-391 release a refreshed version of 'Ignite,' with
Julie Bergan and SEUNGRI". Dancing Astronaut. 4 June 2018.
47. ^ "K-391 & Alan Walker - Ignite (feat. Julie Bergan & Seungri)".
YouTube. 12 May 2018.
48. ^ Fold, The. "Alan Walker - Darkside feat. Au/Ra & Tomine
Harket". Alan Walker. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
49. ^ "Lay – Sheep (Alan Walker Relift)". Alan Walker. Retrieved 2
September 2018.
50. ^ "Alan Walker feat. Sophia Somajo - Diamond Heart
(Trailer)". YouTube. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22
September 2018.
51. ^ Walker, Alan (2018-11-16). "Alan Walker: Different World
(Trailer)". Retrieved 2018-11-16 – via YouTube.
52. ^ Different World, retrieved 2018-12-14
53. ^ "10 Things You Should Know About Alan Walker". Myspace.
Retrieved 7 February2017.
54. ^ Jump up to:a b NRK (2016-07-09). "Norges nye stjerne Alan
Walker om suksessen: – Magisk".
55. ^ KKBOX (23 December 2016), 神秘面罩下的Alan Walker,
retrieved 18 January 2017
56. ^ "Derfor stiller Alan Walker med maske på scenen". vg.no. June
25, 2016.
57. ^ "Alan Walker at Linx - Damai.cn". Damai 大麦. Retrieved 3
September 2018.
58. ^ "Alan Walker's third episode of his 'Unmasked' series -
EARMILK". EARMILK. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
59. ^ "Alan Walker locked to play DJ Mag Miami Pool
Party". DJMag.com. DJ Mag Staff. 28 February 2018.
60. ^ Meier, Sam (13 November 2018). "Alan Walker Announces
'Different World Tour'". promotionmusicnews.com. Retrieved 16
November 2018.
61. ^ "Alan Walker varmer opp for Rihanna". vg.no. June 23, 2016.
62. ^ "Alan Walker to join Justin Bieber on India Tour". India Today.
April 8, 2017.
 63. ^ Andrew Rafter (9 June 2017). "Martin Garrix Reveals Full Line-
Up For Thursdays at Ushuaïa in Ibiza". DJ Mag. Retrieved 13
June 2017.

External links[edit]
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Walker (music producer).

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Alan Walker

 Discography

 Awards and nominations

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Sleep"

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Categories:
 Norwegian record producers
 Norwegian DJs
 Remixers
  1997 births
 Living people
 Musicians from Bergen
 People from Northampton
 English people of Norwegian descent
 Norwegian people of English descent
 British emigrants to Norway
 Male musicians
 NoCopyrightSounds artists
 Masked musicians
 Electronic dance music DJs
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