Written by: BA Mr_Ben.

I was able to interview EDM producer, Alan Walker! With the passion of producing electronic dance music, young Alan Walker plans to share his creations with the world. Alan is a Norwegian teen who is ready to make some good drops and beats! Perhaps, you may be inspired to check out his work after reading this interview.

Check out Alan’s channel today: https://www.youtube.com/user/DjWalkzz

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Alan Walker and I live in Bergen, Norway. I’m 17 years old and I’m an electronic dance music (EDM) producer.

What started your interest in EDM?

That’s pretty hard to say. It’s probably because it’s unique from what you hear than older music. In my opinion, EDM is the future. When I first heard EDM, I was a big fan of Hands Up which also interested me to start creating music.

What motivated you or inspired you to create music? Who/what are your biggest influences?

As mentioned above, I listen to only one specific genre and I wanted to start making the same. At that time, a producer known as “DJ Ness” inspired me to start producing music. He has been around as he helps me to provide tracks to my followers. Now, as my music evolves away from that genre and more into Electro House, my influences are K-391 and Ahrix.

If a new producer were to ask you for advice, what advice would you give to them?

As a brand new producer in the EDM community, I know myself that it’s very easy to give up. I usually tell myself, “do not give up, something big might be around the corner even if it takes a long time to achieve anything.”

Do you have any goals for the future in regards to music? If so, what would they be?

I have one year left of college. Afterwards, I have been thinking that I will either study more music if I don’t have to go to the military.

How do you see yourself in 5 years? Where do you think your music will take you?

Honestly, I don’t know. However, I’m thinking of giving DJing a shot as soon as I turn 18, so who knows where that will take me.

How would you say you’ve improved over time with your music? What have you done to achieve this?

I wanted to change my style and change how I produced my tracks. This change provided results with Fade, my most popular track that has been streamed over 20 million times on YouTube, SoundCloud and Spotify.

Fade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg95MYlTb3c

What’s your favorite song that you’ve produced? What’s the story behind it? Why do you like it?

My favorite song that I have produced must be Fade, I loved it so much before I even released it. Fade started when I first tried to make a Tropical House track and added an electro drop to it. This resulted in Fade. I wanted to create a track with emotion in it and make it a track that can make you, and others, feel good. To me, this song is one that depends on your current mood.

What happens on a normal day in the life of Alan Walker?

On a normal day in the life of Alan Walker, I produce music, hang out with friends or play video games.

Since you’ve started producing, what would be the most memorable moment you have had?

The most memorable moment that I have ever had is the big achievement that I have had by signing my tracks to NoCopyrightSounds. I can’t imagine where I would have been without NCS.

Any shoutouts, praises, or comments that you would like to add?

I’d like to give a shoutout to my label, which is providing non-copyrighted tracks for YouTubers to use in their videos.

Closing Comments

A large thanks to Alan for partaking in this interview! Many, many good beats are found with this Norwegian producer. So, if you are interested in any electronic dance music, be sure to check out Alan’s channel!

Written by: Mr_Ben.

I was able to interview a fantastic YouTuber! His name is Louis Viallet and he is an excellent independent musician and composer who composes various types of music for web-series, films, video games, promotions, bands, trailers and much more. Louis is an open-minded, inspirational composer who may just end up giving you a little inspiration too! I hope that by reading this friendly interview you may be inspired – Check out Louis’ Youtube channel today!

Tell us about yourself.

Hello, I’m Louis and I’m 20 years old. I’m from the center of France. I have practiced music for about 15 years and have composed for about 5 or 6 years. I am really starting to learn a lot in the past year !  I studied architecture for 2 years, but stopped this year to concentrate my life to music.

What kind of music do you produce?

I listen to a very, very large variety of music, with more or less enthusiasm. So, I like to produce a large variety of music- at least I try~ haha. My favourite kinds of music are all genres that work with orchestra! Some examples would be like orchestral cinematic, orchestral trailer, orchestral metal, orchestral electro/chill, orchestral new age and many others. However, like I said, I love diversity. I could easily create some death metal beats one day, and atmospheric, calm beats the next.

To summarize, I produce trailer music, cinematic soundtracks, and orchestral arrangements for the most part!

What motivated you or inspired you to create music? Who/what are your biggest influences?

The world inspires me to create music. More seriously, nature, landscapes, and the universe itself, including the news, and people. Most of the time, inspiration comes far away from the piano or the computer, like during a walk, a trip etc. Art inspires me quite often as well like books, movies, and other composers! For the last question, I could quote that Thomas Bergersen, Tuomas Holopainen, the leader of Nightwish, and James Newton Howard are big influences for me. Other influences include a lot of metal bands, classic and romantic composers, soundtrack composers, and many others.

If you were to pick your favorite track that you have created, which one would it be?

I think that my favourite track is always the last one~ haha! But, with a little of perspective, I think that Wild Heart is my most personal favorite composition. Emotionally speaking, I’m proud of Beautiful Horizon and Among the stars.

Do you have any projects that you are working on? If so, what inspired you to do so?

I’m working with trailer companies, so trailer music inspires me a lot for this. Metal music also inspires me quite often for these projects due to its effectiveness. I create some orchestral arrangements for a metal band which usually is inspired by Nightwish, Shade Empire, Septic Flesh and more classical composers. I’m also currently working on two web-series. Additionally, I have a few other projects, but of less importance. All the above along with a billion of personal projects that I can never classify by importance.

Where do you see music taking you in the future?

I really don’t know. To live by my music is my dream, to live to make music is my aim. I’m definitely ready. I can say that film music would be my ultimate goal.

How would you say that you’ve improved over time with your music? What have you done to achieve this?

Simply, I think that you improve your ability to make music by making music.

There’s no secret, only hard work. I have been fortunate to have a music teacher and a family who always encourages me to continue in music, along with wonderful people (friends, even people that I don’t really know such as users on my YouTube channel). This gives me the strength to work!

Observation, listening, theory, and analysis are all skills that help lot as well. They are tools, but they are not enough as they are nothing besides PRACTICAL WORK! It’s a long, slow, journey, but invaluable and interesting. Additionally, it’s easier with a passion 😉

What happens on a normal day in the life of Louis Viallet ? What do you do in your free time aside from composing?

I have recently stopped my architecture studies. Before stopping, there weren’t any “normal” days due to work and stress (always). On holidays, I have more time, but I don’t think that my life is really interesting. I hate normal days, even drastic organisation may be unavoidable for the next few years!

During my free time, I like to walk in an inspiring place if possible. I’m also quite fond of drawing fantasy landscapes and weird creatures. A good film is always appreciable. I have to work on music theory as well, like grammatical rules, dictations etc. Doing nothing is also great sometimes. Oh, and the Witcher is a great friend of mine!

Since you’ve started producing, what would be the most memorable moment you have had?

I can’t find the most, but an example would be writing and playing for my old symphonic metal band. That was an awesome moment! The track, Beautiful Horizon, was also pretty awesome especially when I heard a singer sing to my work. A few computer crashes are memorable~ ha ha!

Any shoutouts, praises, or comments you that would like to add?

Thanks for the interview, it was great! To be original, Carpe diem and follow your dreams!

Hugs to my family, my friends, and precious people.

Closing Comments

Many thanks to Louis for accepting the interview request! If some of you were inspired by Louis or are fans of his classical/cinematic compositions, be sure to check out his channel!

Written by BA Taz.

The International Dota 2 Championship took place on Twitch between August 3rd and 8th. It’s a multiplayer online battle game, which requires players to use various skills and techniques of their unique in-game character in order to win. Teams must defeat each other before they can take down the opposition’s defense. Along the way they also battle Creeps, other creatures that aim to get in their way of winning. By killing the opposition and the Creeps, players are able to gain gold coins as well as experience in order to allow their character to use their unique powers.

Well known gaming teams such as FNATIC and Cloud 9 were invited as well as qualifiers being held to allow smaller teams to compete and take part in the Internationals with others from across the globe.

The event consisted of two streams – one for those who already knew about how Dota 2 is played and a second, rather helpful and entertaining, Noob stream for those who’d like a brief introduction to the basics and how the game works. For someone who has heard a lot about the game but never played it, I tuned into the Noob stream to learn more about the game.

When I began watching there were two teams being introduced; Evil Geniuses and CDEC Gaming. Bearing in mind, this was my first time ever watching this game so I had no idea what the commentators were talking about throughout the whole thing, but the mini infomercials which introduce and explain the basics of the game were very helpful indeed. It helped me understand the general idea of power, attack, goals and tactics in the game and how to win.

Members of Evil Geniuses compete in the Grand Finals at The International Dota 2 Championships at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington August 8, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Redmond

I followed the gameplay between Evil Geniuses and CDEC Gaming, and it was definitely an interesting game. The infomercials definitely helped put whatever I had learnt into context, making the game a lot easier to understand and follow. In the end, team EG beat the Chinese team, CDEC, in the grand finals of the event with a score of 3 – 1. As the winners of the Dota 2 Internationals, the 6 men who make the Evil Geniuses walked away with the huge prize of $6.6 million between them.

It was interesting to watch this game for the first time without any knowledge of how it works, but as complex as it seemed to me, it was definitely something that I’d be interested in watching more of in the future.