Twenty-five-year-old future house and electro-pop phenom Alan Walker has constructed a big dance music career in a short period of time, and connecting with listeners on a deeper level has always been the blueprint. He was just 18 when his breakthrough track “Faded” made a global impact, and the U.K.-born Norwegian producer DJ’d his first U.S. gig in 2017 at Wynn Las Vegas.
“Las Vegas is one of my favorite places to travel to, and it’s such a surreal place to be—especially for me to come from Norway. There’s nothing like it,” Walker tells the Weekly. “It’s a unique opportunity to have the chance to be in Las Vegas and perform, and it’s a unique way to connect with fans, because you have so many international travelers so some of your audience has probably heard the music before.
“I’ve noticed during my shows there’s a lot of core [fans], but also some new ones, which is very cool, to people from all around the world coming to this one location in Las Vegas to watch me live.”
This year, that location has been Resorts World Las Vegas. Walker made his new residency debut at Zouk Nightclub in May, and his first show at Ayu Dayclub is set for August 26. His new Vegas headquarters was a logical choice considering an existing relationship with the Zouk Group at its venues in Malaysia. “So far it’s been amazing,” he says. “The whole experience has been great.”
This week’s visit should present fuller experience for Walker, who’s taking a few extra days to explore Vegas with friends and family who are traveling for the show. It might be the perfect summer vacation, which aligns with the perfect summer track Walker just released with vocalist and songwriter Zak Abel. “Endless Summer” is a sticky-sweet dance-pop gem, one of those songs that sounds so comfortable and familiar, it feels like it’s been around for several summers already. Expect to hear it closing out sunny sets at Ayu and other pool clubs through Labor Day.
“We wanted to make a song that gives you that feeling of what summer is,” Walker says. “It was a very quick process to write and produce and get Zak on it, and then I invited him to a festival show in Norway and we performed it for the first time live and it was really well-received. He did an amazing job [on the vocals], and it’s just a match made in heaven for the music.”
He’s looking forward to additional future collaborations with Abel, just as he’s ready to schedule more Vegas shows (Walker is back at Zouk on October 13). Emotional anthems like “Endless Summer” and a steady tour schedule are essential ways to maintain those human connections, the ties that make fans feel like friends and transform social interactions into real-life experiences.
Walker has noticed the shift in taste and style in dance music in recent years, the surge of house and techno and a mainstream acceptance of those classic genres. He’s enjoying it, but he’s also staying on his own creative course and staying true to his own sound. “It’s noticeable on the main stages of different festivals, and very interesting and cool, a nice way to implement that old-school house music that has been with us for so many years,” he says. “I don’t think it’s changing my shows or how my music is perceived, but it’s been great. I’ve always thought my music can fit anyone, any style, any taste.”
ALAN WALKER August 26, noon, $20-$30+. Ayu Dayclub, zoukgrouplv.com.
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