Fade (Alan Walker Song)

Fade
Alan Walker
publication	19th November 2014
length	4:24 min.
Genre (s)	Electro-House , Electro-Pop , EDM , downtempo
Publisher (s)	NoCopyrightSound
album	NCS: uplifting
Cover version
2015	Alan Walker feat. Iselin Solheim ( Faded )

Live performance 2016 in the Arena of Verona

Fade ( Eng. “To fade”) is an instrumental piece by the Norwegian DJ and producer Alan Walker . The song was first released on November 19, 2014 as part of the compilation NCS: Uplifting via the British music organization NoCopyrightSounds . At the same time, the song was released as a free track on the company's website and as a single track on various music streaming services. The song, which was influenced by electro-pop and electro-house , achieved great success on various platforms, whereupon Sony Music became aware of the song and on November 25, 2015 published a revised version of the song with vocals by the Norwegian singer and songwriter Iselin Solheim . This developed into a worldwide success and reached number one in the single charts in over 15 countries.

background

For the production of Fade , Walker was inspired by the song Nova by the Dutch producer Ahrix. In an interview, he said that "the melody and the way the track [Nova] plays out" served as the basis for " Fade ." He experienced additional influence through the musical style of the Norwegian DJ and music producer K-391 . The song is Alan Walker's first release since his contract, which he signed with the British music organization NoCopyrightSounds between summer and autumn 2014 , and was part of the compilation NCS: Uplifting . The songs on the album were also offered for free download on the company's website and appeared as single tracks on music streaming services such as Spotify or Napster . The license-free publication made it possible for the song to be used in countless web videos and thereby gained widespread use. Both on the video platform YouTube , and online services such as Soundcloud developed fade to a great success and was on YouTube alone around 415 million times called (as of July 2020).

Musical and content

Fade is described as a mix of electro-pop and EDM . In addition, influences of electro and progressive house can be heard. Due to the slow tempo of the song with 90 beats per minute , the song is often assigned to the "downtempo" category. The chord progression is based on Ebm – Bb – Gb – Db and was written in the key of E flat minor . In an interview with the US online magazine “The Knockturnal” he said that he “didn't” know “where the melody came from”, but that he would “try” to “try” his “feelings and emotions to have the greatest impact to dedicate his melodies ”.

Faded

After Fade became a success in 2015, MER Musikk , the Swedish division of the major label Sony Music , became aware of Walker and signed him. The label commissioned a vocal version of the track, the lyrics of which he wrote together with various songwriters and which was sung by the Norwegian singer Iselin Solheim . The Norwegian pop producer Mood Melodies supported him in the revision of the instrumental and the final production. The result was titled Faded and was first published on December 3, 2015.

On February 12, 2016, Faded (Restrung) was released, an acoustic version of the song. According to Alan Walker, this was produced to better embody the mood of the text and to emphasize Solheim's voice. In addition, the acoustic version, which is five seconds longer, is intended to appeal to a different target group who may like the singing and melody but cannot come to terms with the electronic aspects. The word “restrung” is an inflected form of the word “restring”, which describes the pulling of new strings onto a stringed instrument . This is a metaphorical reproduction of the song.

A remix EP followed on April 29, 2016. This contained reinterpretations by, among others, Tiësto , Dash Berlin and Tungevaag & Raaban , which W&W considered a remix for a long time . In addition, there is a version on the EP that includes US singer and rapper Luke Christopher as well as Solheim. Further remix versions followed between May 2016 and July 2016.

Musical and content

The lyrics for the vocal version of Fade were written by Jesper Borgen, Anders Frøen and Gunnar Greve Pettersen. Solheim's vocal range is between D4 and E5. In addition to the text, the intro was also changed for Faded , which is now introduced by a piano. In the Restrung acoustic version, only a piano, violins and Solheim's vocals can be heard.

The text sung by Solheim describes how the lyrical ego misses an unspecified person. It doubts itself and fears that it will all be just imagination. It also compares the disappearance of the sung about with Atlantis and its lostness in the sea. The pain caused by disappearing is metaphorically described as demons playing mad:

"Where are you now Was it all in my fantasy Where are you now Were you only imaginary Where are you now Atlantis Under the sea Where are you now Another dream The monsters running wild inside of me I'm faded" - Refrain, original excerpt

"Where are you now Was it all in my fantasy Where are you now Were you just imagination Where are you now Atlantis Deep in the sea Where are you now Another dream The demons in me are playing crazy I'm faded" - Refrain, translation

reception

criticism

Faded received mostly positive reviews. In the run-up to the song, the song had a very good chance of a big hit, as Simon Kreß wrote on the music website Dance Charts : “With 'Faded', Alan Walker and the vocalist Iselin Solheim produced a radio hit that is also in the clubs is suitable, at least for the main floor. The mood, the vocals and the elements make 'Faded' a special song, which is sure to conquer the charts in Germany as well. "Anke van de Weyer from radio station 1 Live described the song as a brilliant pendulum between melancholy and bass bombardment:" ' Faded 'is a game of tension and mood. If it is too tight, Alan Walker will pick up the pace, if you're in party mode, he will slow down again ”. Solheim's singing and its harmony with the instrumental were also highly praised, the website vol.at wrote : “The voice of the young artist Iselin Solheim fits perfectly into the concept”.

Commercial win

After Fade became a huge success on all streaming platforms, the piece gained great popularity in the commercial sector. In his home country Norway, the song debuted at number 19 one week after its release in 2015. In the second week he made it to first place. In 2016, more than 15 number one placements followed worldwide, including in Germany, Spain, Croatia and Sweden, plus 10 further top 10 placements. In Germany reached Faded also for 13 weeks, the chart peak in the dance charts and for two weeks, the top position in the airplay charts . In addition, the song set a new streaming record in Germany, with Faded being streamed 3.69 million times in just one week. In February and March 2016, the song was consistently number one on the Shazam charts.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	1 (60 weeks)	60
Norway (Nielsen)	1 (64 weeks)	64
Austria (Ö3)	1 (54 weeks)	54
Sweden (GLF)	1 (77 weeks)	77
Switzerland (IFPI)	1 (86 weeks)	86
United Kingdom (OCC)	7th (42 weeks)	42
United States (Billboard)	80 (8 weeks)	8th

Awards for music sales

Faded has been awarded gold twice, platinum 68 times and diamond three times worldwide. The single was sold over 7,235,000 times. In 2017 the single was awarded a diamond record in Germany for over one million units sold. This makes it one of the best-selling singles in Germany and the most successful contribution by a Norwegian ever.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	7 × platinum	490,000
Belgium (BEA)	2 × platinum	60,000
Denmark (IFPI)	3 × platinum	270,000
Germany (BVMI)	diamond	1,000,000
Finland (IFPI)	platinum	10,000
France (SNEP)	gold	75,000
Italy (FIMI)	8 × platinum	400,000
Canada (MC)	5 × platinum	400,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)	gold	30,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	2 × platinum	60,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	40,000
Norway (IFPI)	11 × platinum	110,000
Austria (IFPI)	2 × platinum	60,000
Poland (ZPAV)	2 × diamond	200,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	5 × platinum	150,000
Sweden (IFPI)	13 × platinum	520,000
Spain (Promusicae)	4 × platinum	160,000
United States (RIAA)	2 × platinum	2,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	2 × platinum	1,200,000
All in all	2 × gold 68 × platinum 3 × diamond	7,235,000

Live performances

On March 1, 2016, Alan Walker and Iselin Solheim performed together for the first time and played the song together at the X-Games sports event in Oslo. The performance was broadcast live on television. Together with Zara Larsson , Walker performed on April 8, 2016 at the Echo Awards in Germany. There they played a medley of Faded and Never Forget You . In addition to Alan Walker, who often wears a scarf over his face, a large number of male people can be seen with their backs to the audience and each wearing a hoodie with the DJ's logo on it. Furthermore, the song was played both in the original and in remix form by various DJs such as Hardwell , Tiësto or Sander van Doorn at festivals or podcasts .

Music video

content

The former quarry prison on Rummu

Linnahall in Tallinn

The official music video was released by Alan Walker himself on December 3, 2015. It shows the Swedish actor Shahab Salehi as the main character. The video was produced and edited by Bror Bror. Directed by Tobias and Rikkard Häggbom, who was also active as a cameraman.

The video shows a young man with a backpack and a photo of the house where he grew up. He also wears a hoodie and a scarf over his mouth to protect himself. He is in a disaster area that is completely deserted. Large, ruined buildings and derelict structures can be seen there. Desperate but unsuccessful, he searches the area for signs of life. He also tries to find the place in the photo. After finally finding his parents' house in ruins, he drops the photo dejectedly and makes signs to take the cloth off his face. It is also possible that he just wants to wipe the tears from his face. To date, the video has been viewed over 2.4 billion times.

The music video for the Restrung version shows Alan Walker at the piano and Iselin Solheim standing in front of a row of female violinists. At the end of the video, Walker stands up and you can see that the video was shot in one of the ruins. He goes up a flight of stairs and disappears into the light. This video was also shot by Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom and produced by Bror Bror.

Locations

The music video was filmed in Estonia and focuses primarily on buildings that are in a dilapidated, abandoned, or poor condition. Notable locations are the Linnahall buildings, which were built from limestone, a disused textile factory in Tallinn , the former quarry prison on Rummu and some locations around the town of Paldiski . The last shot shows the ruins of a building near the coast of the Pakri Peninsula .

Track list

Hardwell

Tungevaag & Raaban

Luke Christopher

• Fade - single

1. Fade - 4:24

• Faded - single

1. Faded ( Radio Edit ) - 3:32
2. Faded ( Instrumental Version ) - 3:35

• Faded (Restrung)

1. Faded ( Restrung ) - 3:37

• Faded (Remixes)

1. Faded ( Tiësto Deep-House Remix) - 4:29
2. Faded ( Dash Berlin Remix) - 3:35
3. Faded ( Tungevaag & Raaban Remix) - 4:11
4. Faded (Y&V Remix) - 4:33
5. Faded (Tiësto Northern Light Remix) - 4:10
6. Faded (Luke Christopher Remix) - 3:26

Faded (Remixes II)

1. Faded (Yung Bombs Remix) - 3:23
2. Faded (Slushii Remix) - 4:31

Faded (Lost Stories Remix)

1. Faded (Lost Stories Remix) - 3:31

• Unpublished remixes (selection)

1. Faded (Amice Remix) - 4:33
2. Faded ( Da Tweekaz Remix) - 3:53
3. Faded ( Darius & Finlay Remix) - 4:00
4. Faded (DserT Remix) - 2:32
5. Faded ( Disturbed but GeiL Remix) - 3:57
6. Faded ( Hardwell Remix) - 3:27
7. Faded ( Kryder & Tom Staar Remix) - 2:04
8. Faded (Me Remix) - 5:35
9. Faded (Osias Remix) - 3:01
10. Faded (PBH & Jack Shizzle Remix) - 3:07
11. Faded (Salazar Pakyo Remix) - 3:16

See also

• List of the best-selling singles in Germany

Web links

• Official website of Alan Walker

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tamara Roper: "Faded" Creator Alan Walker Chooses His Influences on " Internet Archive "; originally on " Ministry of Sound "
2. ↑ Ann Kristin Ødegård: Bergens nye YouTube-suksess on "Internet Archive"; originally on "Bergensavisen"
3. ^ Alan Walker - Fade [NCS release]. November 19, 2014. Video on YouTube.com, accessed June 5, 2019.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Faded By Alan Walker - Digital Sheet Music. In: Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Exclusive: Alan Walker Talks 'Faded' And More! on "Internet Archive"; originally on "The Knockturnal"
6. ↑ Tim Olsson: Alan Walker - Faded on "We Rave You"
7. ↑ Sebastian Wernke-Schmiesing: Music video → Alan Walker - Faded acoustic version on dance charts
8. ↑ Anke van de Weyer: Faded ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: WDR . January 29, 2016, accessed April 1, 2016. 
9. ↑ Faded . In: Vorarlberg Online . March 14, 2016, accessed April 17, 2016.
10. ↑ Alan Walker - Fade. officialcharts.de, accessed on March 17, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Airplay Charts Germany: Week 13/2016. germancharts.de, accessed on June 14, 2020 . 
12. ↑ RCA Records: Alan Waker on 1 of the Shazam Charts
13. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Chart sources: DE AT CH NO UK US
14. ↑ Award in Australia
15. ^ Award in Belgium
16. ^ Award in Denmark
17. ↑ Award in Germany
18. ↑ Award in Finland
19. ^ Award in France
20. ↑ Award in Italy
21. ↑ Award in Canada
22. ^ Award in Mexico
23. ↑ Award in New Zealand
24. ↑ Award in the Netherlands
25. ^ Award in Norway
26. ↑ Award in Austria
27. ↑ Award in Poland
28. ↑ beta.musikwoche.de
29. ↑ Award in Sweden
30. ↑ Award in Spain
31. ↑ Distinction in the United States
32. ↑ Award in the United Kingdom
33. ↑ Alan Waker & Iselin Solheim live at x Games
34. ^ Alan Walker live with Zara Larsson
35. ↑ Faded on "1001tracklists.com"
36. ↑ Report on the success of Faded on "sorrisi.com"
37. ↑ Alan Walker - Faded on YouTube
38. ↑ Article about the shooting of Faded on "menu.err.ee"
39. ↑ Article about the music video on "menu.err.ee"