Alan Walker
Biography
Alan Olav Walker is a British–Norwegian producer and DJ, born on 24 August 1997 in Northampton, England, and based in Bergen, Norway, since he was two years old.
He began as a bedroom producer, drawing inspiration from EDM producers like K-391 and Ahrix, as well as film composers Hans Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky. Initially known under the pseudonym DJ Walkzz, he signed with NoCopyrightSounds and released his first successful single, Fade, in 2014, followed in 2015 by Spectre and Force.
His international breakthrough came on 8 December 2015 with the release of Faded, a remastered, vocal version of Fade featuring singer Iselin Solheim; the single achieved multi‑platinum certifications in more than ten countries and became the lead single of his debut album.
His first studio album, Different World, was released on 14 December 2018 and includes several popular tracks such as Sing Me To Sleep (Iselin Solheim), Alone (with uncredited vocals by Noonie Bao) and Darkside (Au/Ra, Tomine Harket). The album amassed billions of streams, with Faded exceeding one billion streams on Spotify alone.
His second album, World of Walker, was released on 26 November 2021; it contains 15 tracks including On My Way (Sabrina Carpenter, Farruko), Alone, Pt. II (Ava Max) and Fake A Smile (salem ilese).
In 2022 he announced the Walkerverse world tour and an eponymous album released in two parts: Walkerverse, Pt. I (17 June 2022) included tracks like Somebody Like U (Au/Ra) and Blue (Ina Wroldsen), while Walkerverse, Pt. II (25 November 2022) added songs such as Extremes (Trevor Daniel) and Shut Up (UPSAHL).
Musically rooted in electro house and progressive house, his style is recognized for emotionally rich melodies. His public image — typically wearing a hood and a face mask — has become his trademark, which he describes as a symbol of unity and similarity among people.
Over his career he has amassed a large audience, with over 40 million YouTube subscribers and more than 50 billion cumulative audio and video streams.