Alan Walker discusses his rise to stardom, future goals and “Faded” in exclusive interview

Alan Walker has undeniably become an internationally renowned artist within the past year. Most of this Norwegian producer’s success came from his astounding progressive house track titled “Faded”, which has topped the charts of many different countries across the globe. Along with that feat, Walker’s single was also able to achieve platinum status seven times in Sweden, five times in Norway, and at least once in several European states.

With his many accomplishments at such a young age, it is intriguing to see what Walker has in stored this year. Therefore, We Rave You had the privilege of chatting with Walker not only about his future goals but also about the triumphant career he has had thus far. Check out the full interview below:

You only started producing a couple of years ago. Could you tell us what initially got you started? Do you have any previous musical background?

A couple of years ago, I was searching through YouTube for new music and I ended up finding some songs by the producer DJ Ness and I immediately fell in love with them. After listening to his music for a while, I decided to ask him how he made his music and we got in touch and he started teaching me the basics.

I don’t have a musical background from my years growing up. Music has been a hobby that has been growing for the past 3-4 years since I first started my artist channel on YouTube and posted my first track to the public in 2012.

We understand that you have been part of production group on Facebook, perhaps you could tell us how the group has helped you in the development of your career and how your sound has developed along the way?

The group known as FruityGroup Chat was probably the best thing I could have stumbled upon. The community and the members were fantastic. The group was full of other underground producers like me who dreamt of a career in music and everyone worked with the same production program which also made it a lot easier for all of us.

In this group you could post anything; your new tracks, remixes, bootlegs, demos and ask for feedback and tips. So, it was pretty easy to get feedback from other members and tips on how to improve your work. To me, this group has been a vital part in developing me as a producer and establishing me as an artist.

Only last year you released ‘Force’, ‘Spectre’, and of course, ‘Fade’ which was, in fact, the first version of your recent hit ‘Faded’ and it seems like NCS (NoCopyrightSounds) have played a major role in your earlier career. Could you tell us about the partnership and how did it get started?

Back in 2014, I was following the owner of NCS’s Facebook account and I saw that he posted a status where he specifically asked for track with the genre Norwegian House. I decided to post a song of mine and shortly after he contacted me.

Later, I got in touch with Sony Music and we wanted to re-release “Fade as “Faded” with a brand new mix and we added Iselin Solheim’s fantastic vocals to it, which gave the whole track a brand new feeling.

You recently broke through with your career defining hit song ‘Faded’ which not only received international recognition but also gained the attention of industry giants such as Hardwell, Dash Berlin and of course Tiësto who remixed your track not only once but twice! Could you tell us a little about the background story of why Tiësto took such a huge interest in ‘Faded’ and how were first connections made?

As the track gained more and more popularity, more of the big guys heard my track. I have never in my life thought that one day Tiësto and me would have our names on the same track. He made his first remix especially for his Northern Lights Tour, which is pretty sick to think about, and I honestly have no clue why he decided to make two, but I am very happy with both of the remixes, he did a fantastic job.

You played your first live performance at X-Games in Oslo and it looked absolutely incredible. How was it to perform?

Going from having school presentations to performing in front of large audiences was a very big transition, but very fun. I really enjoy playing live and I’m really looking forward to my shows in the near future.

Recent times must have been very hectic and different from your previous life. What has been your biggest challenge so far in dealing with all the new adjustments to your life? You also recently decided to leave school behind to focus 100% on music, do still feel you have time to set aside for your social life and other personal interests?

Ever since “Fade” started to gain success, my main goal was to focus on completing school, but that got difficult when “Faded” had its crazy breakthrough. I do set off time to have some social life with my old classmates and friends, but since everything blew up I have less time and music is my priority.

Every day we see more and more incredible producers emerging from Norway. Why do you think Norway’s music export has increased so much in recent years? Are there any specific or other common source of inspiration in Norway?

That’s a tough question. I think that when one Norwegian producer has a lot of success, it opens up doors for other local acts and inspires them to work even harder to break through. I think that people are willing to try out new things like music production, but you must be able to set off a lot of hours of your free-time to sit down and learn the craft.

Wrapping things up; what are your goals for the rest of the year? Musically, touring, or other plans. Any big tour or new music coming up soon?

My goals for the rest of the year is to release as much music as possible. I don’t have an album planned for the time being, but I for sure have more tracks on the way. I’m super excited for the tour we have planned for 2016.