Alan Walker’s songs are laser-focused on young people who feel alienated. They see the world from their personal digital perspective that algorithms designed for them, and since their bubble is unique, they wonder why nobody understands them. Are You Lonely, Alone, Ghost, Faded and Lost Control talk about the feeling of being an outsider, and how it actually is an identity to be proud of. It seems that a whole lot of people can relate to that.
“You know I’m like a ghost
sometimes I need to fade”
“Are you lonely?”
“I can’t make it alone”
There’s a recurring theme here.
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Out of Alan Walker’s quite impressive catalogue, my favorite track may just be Steve Aoki‘s remix version of Are You Lonely. The synth riff is just quite special. Faded is a wonderful song as well. Maybe I was expecting too much from Alan Walker’s debut album, Different World (again, a title about alienation) back in 2018, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Since then, Alan Walker has released some nice tracks, but I just can’t get over the eastern beats that carry the tunes. Alone, Pt. II is no exception to this, and while the music video is fantastic, almost like a Tomb Raider short film, I can’t get too excited about the song.
The composition of Alone, Pt. II is quite fine, and I do like the lyrics, but the production of the single version feels kind of bland. The remixes are there to fix that, though. Da Tweekaz remix brings in some Scooter energy, which proves that the song could work nicely with a straight beat as well. Mio Remix is quite adventurous with unexpected chord changes and cool glitched out vocal sampling. In the original version, there are lots of trademark walkerisms, like glissando synths, those infamous beats and the lyrical theme of “I was on the outside, always looking in”.
Anyway, I must be alone with my opinion, so judge for yourself. 45 million views at the time of writing.