With a thriving fanbase in his home country of Brazil, Alok has a power brand, family background and plenty of experience that he plans on utilizing for his United States breakout. Raised by his DJ parents alongside his twin brother, who is another budding hitmaker, this twenty-something producer is on the verge of worldwide expansion. In 2016, he performed at ULTRA Music festival, ranked No. 25 on the DJ Mag Top 100 chart and even unleashed "Hear Me Now," his breezy collaboration with Bruno Martini and singer Zeeba.
In the midst of another hectic year of scheduling for the producer/DJ, Alok spoke with iHeartRadio about his single, which has already nabbed more than 22 million views on YouTube, lessons from the family biz and what he has in store for his followers later this year. Take a look below!
Less than 20 seconds into "Hear Me Now," listeners are treated to an irresistible whistle. Talk to us about how this song came about.
Originally, "Hear Me Now" was a rock/acoustic track that was sung by Zeeba and produced by Bruno Martini. These guys showed me the track, which I immediately liked and proposed for us to work on an electronic version. So we went to the studio and I brought the dance groove and added the whistle melody to the track. The magic we created with this new version made them end up "forgetting" the acoustic version and "Hear Me Now" became the new electronic version we have now.
The clip for the video is absolutely touching and sad in a lot of ways. Who came up the concept?
The video was my idea - I came up with the script shortly after my grandmother passed away. Sometimes we only value those close to us when we loose them. So with this video, I tried to express a message to everyone to not wait until tomorrow to show your affection to those you love, instead, love them today - in the present. Don't leave it until it’s too late.
Considering that your twin brother and parents are both well acquainted in the EDM scene, what kind of advice have you learned from your family?
My parents are the pioneers of the Psy Trance scene in Brazil, so I was born in this electronic music environment. My brother and I ended up following in our parents footsteps, and are the biggest source of inspiration for the both of us. Even though they are in a different segment within the electronic music scene, they are still our heroes. It’s crazy because we can talk about and share the same subjects. I see lots of people that want to have music careers that don't have support from their parents because many times parents don't understand. In our case this is completely different - they're our biggest supporters.
As a budding DJ on the scene, what was your highlight of 2016?
There were many highlights in 2016, like playing main stage at Tomorrowland Brasil, Tomorrowland in Belgium, and Ultra Miami, but I think the biggest highlight was the release of "Hear Me Now". It went number 1 in Brazil and for the first time a Brazilian artist broke through Spotify's Global Top 50 Chart.
What else do you have lined up for fans in the New Year?
In 2017 I've got lots of things planned! Several releases that I'm extremely excited about are already lined up and I can also guarantee that I will release a live video album called 'Alok: Something Special’.
If you live in New York City and want to experience Alok live, make sure you check out his Webster Hall show on Saturday (January 14). Tickets are currently on sale.
Photo: Gustavo Arrais