EXCLUSIVE: Interview with 'Faded' hit maker Alan Walker

Meet “Faded”, “Sing Me To Sleep” hit maker Alan Walker. The 19-year-old guy started making music on his laptop (2012) in his bedroom in Bergen, Norway and shot to fame after one of his songs “Fade” (which later become “Faded”) became a massive European hit. It topped the charts in ten countries and entered the Top Five in six more, becoming the most Shazam-ed song in the world, with almost 600 million streams on Spotify and nearly 800 million YouTube views.

“Where are you now
Another dream
The monsters running wild inside of me
I’m faded”

With his many accomplishments at such a young age, it is intriguing to see what Walker has in store for us this year.

Recently, CelebMix had a chance to speak to Alan about his life before “Faded”, school, new single “Alone” and future plans. Check out the interview below!

Hi Alan, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. How are you today?

Yeah, I’m doing good today. Thank you for taking the time.

So, to begin with, for those who don’t know you, can you briefly explain how did your journey to music production begin? How did you start producing, creating music? 

It all started back in 2012 when I first got my eyes on this artist on YouTube. I was curious on how he made music so I simply left a comment on one of his videos and asked: “How do you make your music?”. He responded. Later on, we got in touch on Facebook and stuff. Since then, we just gave each other advice and helped each other to develop as artists. This kept on going for a couple of years until 2014. In 2014, I released my song ‘Fade’ and it really blew up on the internet. In 2015, I signed with MER musikk and we decided to make a version with vocals. Later, we got to sign a contract with Sony Music in Sweden and since then, it’s just been a crazy journey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNZywMHBD-c/?taken-by=alanwalkermusic&hl=en

After ‘Faded’ became a massive hit in 2015, you quit school. You were 18 at the time. How did your parents feel about it? How did they react to the whole situation? Your success?

The whole situation that was going on at that point was crazy. We were discussing “What about school? What about education?”. That’s something that is also really important to me. However, when I started making more and more music I realised it was really hard to keep a balance between music and school. It was hard to work on music in the day time and night and also focus on school. I did go to school for a couple of weeks, though. But later, me and my parents, all of us, ended up coming to a decision to leave school. Hopefully, I’ll be able to study again and get a degree which I could use later in the future if music didn’t work out.

You played Creamfields earlier this year to a packed out tent as well as at massive festivals across Europe. You’re also touring around Asia and Europe this winter. What does it feel like to perform to so many people?

At the very beginning, I was very nervous and felt like it wasn’t a thing for me. But after I did it more and more times, I got more and more used to it. I feel like I got to know the inner person that i didn’t really know about myself before. Just by performing live on different stages. I felt like live shows were a thing that I could really continue with and I certainly did not regret taking that decision. I’ve had a lot of fun traveling the world, experiencing a lot of different cultures, audiences. Yeah and it feels incredible, It feels very personal. I love that personal relationship with my fans.

If you could pick any vocalist to collaborate with, who would you pick?

If I could pick any vocalist to work with, I would probably pick Zara Larsson. If I had to pick a woman. I want something unique and If I had to pick a man vocalist, I would pick Bruno Mars.

You’ve recently released a new single “Alone”. Congratulations on the release by the way. For people who haven’t heard it yet, describe “Alone” in three words.

Thank you so much. Melancholic, emotional and mysterious.

How long did it take you to make it?

It took a couple of months. It all started from a studio session where I, Noonie Bao (Swedish artist) and a couple of other people joined together in the studio. We just started writing a bunch of other stuff and we just kept on working on that track and yeah, we wrote the single.

The song has a deep meaning. Do “Alone” lyrics mean something to you? Have you ever felt alone? Do you feel alone now?

Well, earlier today I read comments on the video and saw a quote from a Chinese guy, I think, which said that from birth you don’t really feel love or feelings or you were born alone and I feel like you’re always alone or being together with someone is illusional and just a feeling so many people also responded to that comment and that’s how I feel too. I would say that I’ve never felt or been alone but it was really important to state, show people that you’re not alone, you can be a walker too. Together we Are all equal.

“If this night is not forever
At least we are together
I know I’m not alone
I know I’m not alone”

People usually ask what would your present self would like to say to your younger self, but we want to ask you something a bit different. What do you think a 9-year-old Alan would say to a 19-year-old Alan? Would he be proud? 

Haha, I think a 9-year-old would be proud of a 19-year-old Alan just like a 19-year-old would be proud of the 9-year-old.

Do you think you’ll ever stop making music and focus on something else?

I think that really depends on how things will go in the future. At the moment I really enjoy working with music on a full-time schedule. Right now, I’m just really enjoying that opportunity. Many artists say that they’ll enjoy it as long as it lasts, so will I!

Now, that 2016 is almost over, what are your plans for 2017? What can we expect from Alan in the near future?

You can pretty much expect more music from Alan Walker. Hopefully, collaborations and yeah more touring and more shows.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIZNb6gAOy5/?taken-by=alanwalkermusic&hl=en

Fan questions:

You invited your fans to the new music video for “Alone”. Who came up with the idea ? – Ade, Indonesia.

The idea actually came from me and my team. I feel like it was a really cool idea. I love that I actually got a chance to communicate with my fans, my followers. We reached out to them and asked if they wanted to be in my music video.

Would You like to collaborate with DJs like Madeon or Porter Robinson? – Alice, France.

I think that would be pretty cool. I’ve recently heard their collaboration. It’s a sick track! And yeah, I would love to!

And finally, is there something You would like to say to CelebMix readers and your fans?

Oh yes, thank you all so much for your support and I love you all. I’ll forever be thankful for the opportunity to make music and share it with my fans and the world.

Thank you very much for your time and good luck in the future. Can’t wait to hear what you have in store for us.

Make sure you keep up to date with everything Alan Walker is up to by following him on Twitter @IAmAlanWalker.

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