Norwegian DJ and music producer Alan Walker is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his breakout hit Faded, not with a vacation but with more new music. Contrary to the popular perception of laidback Norwegians, this man is never idle. He was in Bangalore last month to launch his new IPL song for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The anthemic track Team Side ft RCB has singer Sofiloud aka Lise Reppe on vocals and has lyrics and English, Kannada and Hindi. It has already garnered more than 19 million views on YouTube.
“This song has been so long in the making, and I am happy with the final result,” he said in an interview with The Free Press Journal. As for the journey since his breakout hit Faded, Walker remarked, "This year marks 10 years since I released the instrumental forerunner to Faded, and naturally, my sound has evolved, both in terms of my own personal development and how the genre and industry have developed.” He credits his growth to working with diverse talents and exploring various genres, stating, “I enjoy working with others and across genres. So, most likely, the development is a combination of several factors.”
He's also riding high from the love for his latest global hit Who I Am, a collaborative effort involving Indonesian singer Putri Ariani and Norwegian singer-songwriter Peder Elias. “It was an exciting process. I had been working on the song for over a year with different vocalists. But when I met Putri last year at a performance in Indonesia, we wanted to test her on the track. I'm very happy about that now,” Walker said.
Gravero |
While it follows Walker's signature EDM soundscape, what sets is apart is the acoustic guitar and the duet. The decision to collaborate with our Indian mashup sensation Gravero for a new mix of Who I Am was serendipitous. “Gravero actually reached out, and I'm glad he did. He is an incredibly inspiring person, and I loved his version,” Alan added.
Gravero started his musical career making mashups, which caught the attention of dance music fans first. The young artist hailing from Kolkata is working on his own original sound, and this collaboration with Walker was a “dream come true” for him. While his version has been appreciated for the sitar and flute additions, some listeners didn't find it too far out from the original.
“While the original track has a slower tempo with vocal beds and chops in the drop, my rendition introduces a completely different sonic environment. It's understandable that the similarities to Alan Walker's signature sound could overshadow the distinctions since I've been influenced by his music for years, and it was important to honour his style in this collaboration,” Gravero explained.
Walker isn't fazed by the rapid changes that technology is bringing to the music industry. He'd rather create and live through unforgettable experiences, “I had a pretty insane restrung performance of the single on top of the mountains of Åndalsnes in Norway. Putri and Peder Elias are in it along with a bunch of musicians. We made a grand video around it,” he recalled.
For the moment, he can't hide his excitement about his biggest India tour, where he will cover 10 cities in September-October 2024. In partnership with the Sunburn music festival, the tour aligns with the debut of his latest venture, WalkerWorld. It is a compilation album released in December 2023, consisting of 10 tracks and has collabs with top acts like American producers Daya and Steve Aoki. What makes WalkerWorld more astounding is that it's a crossover into the virtual world, with the introduction of Alan Walker's amusement park in Fortnite. The world is about 1,500 square miles and is an open-world experience. “The most exciting part of the tour is obviously the Indian Walkers (his fans). They are absolutely fantastic,” remarked the DJ.
