The voice of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” summer single Aloe Blacc has released his own acoustic version of the song he co-wrote with the Swedish DJ and producer. And it is different, so different in fact that it strikes a new chord, and is infinitely touching to the listener. In a recent interview with acclaimed music publication Rolling Stone, the 34-year-old singer and songwriter said, “It’s fun to get messages from people who finally discover that I am singing the song,” after releasing the acoustic version.
At its core the music video is a soulful, folk-based anthem that depicts the dreams of undocumented immigrants, and the difficulties of finding yourself, and your family members in a new country without a defined nationality, or even a green card. Directed by Alex Rivera, the video is an emotional saga that includes the themes of deportation and day labor, and features appearances by Agustín Chiprez Alvarez, Margarita Reyes, and Hareth Andrade Ayala. The acoustic track is simple, and meaningful, with a stripped down guitar part underlying Blacc’s velvet-throated vocals crooning the deeply seated lyrics. “Wake Me Up,” begins and ends with a subtle heartbeat that is sure to strike a chord in anyone with personal experience.