Alan Walker on Gaming, Coming Back to India and Movie Score Remixes

The DJ-producer resumed his globetrotting, which included a four-city tour as part of Sunburn Arena last month

- ANURAG TAGAT

It’s not entirely inaccurate to call Alan Walker a household name in India. The DJ and electronic music producer from Norway has played a handful of times in the country since 2016 (including supporting Justin Bieber) and of course, ruled the digital airwaves with his 2015 song “Faded.” But apart from that, it’s perhaps his songs appearing in the hugely popular mobile game PUBG that’s done the work for him.

Over a Zoom call from Helsinki, Walker says he’s seen proof of his widespread following in India while he was here the last time in 2019. “We were just driving to the hotel and I noticed this guy on a scooter, he had an Alan Walker sweater on. That was crazy. It never happens anywhere else,” the producer says.

What works in his favor is pretty much anyone’s guess – songs like “Alone,” “Diamond Heart” and “Darkside” plus his 2021 album World of Walker all take listeners on a ride on the melody wave, offering up tunes for several moods. “I’m really focusing on creating melodies that will relate to people in a way if they’re melancholic or happy – feel-good melodies. I think alongside that, there was a connection between music and gaming, which has played a big part in my journey,” he says.

Walker returns to India this week, following a two-year gap owing to the pandemic. His shows are part of outdoor event series Sunburn Arena, who will host the DJ-producer in four cities – Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Hyderabad (which is already sold out) – between April 14th and 17th. In an interview with