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Avicii's Story: 'A Life You Will Remember'

TIM BERGLING (AVICII)

Biography

(1989-2018)


Avicii DJing in New York City in 2013. Photo from GettyImages.com


Tim Bergling, known professionally as Avicii, was a Grammy-nominated Swedish DJ and music producer who created many international hits such as “Levels,” “Wake Me Up,” and “The Nights” throughout his career.


Who Was Avicii?


Many people have considered Avicii to be one of the pioneers of Electronic Dance Music. Refinery29 says “He is one of the DJs credited with bringing the genre of music into the mainstream, as well as into the Top 40.”


He crossed musical boundaries by diving into pop, country, EDM and other genres. Avicii has worked with many respected artists including Coldplay, Madonna, Aloe Blacc, Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Nicky Romero and more.


Avicii’s career was cut short with his tragic death by suicide in 2018. After the four-year anniversary of his death, fellow DJs and fans around the world are still paying tribute to the legendary musician.


  • A museum called ‘The Avicii Experience’ recently opened in Stockholm, Sweden. The official website says it is an “immersive interactive museum where you follow Tim’s journey from his boyhood room where it all started to the Los Angeles studio where the biggest hits were created.”


  • EDM.com and Billboard also say a new documentary is set to be released in 2023. It focuses on Avicii’s struggles as a performer and a person prior to his death. It will also explore his career through a new perspective using interviews with his family, colleagues, and “never-before-seen archive footage and interviews with Bergling himself."


Early Life & Influences


The Tim Bergling Foundation says that Avicii was born on September 8, 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up with three siblings during his childhood. His parents are Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén.


  • He said in a forum that his top influences in EDM are Eric Prydz, Swedish House Mafia (Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angelo), and Daft Punk. He took inspiration from them for his sound and production techniques.


  • In a 2011 interview, Bergling mentioned that his musical style was also influenced by his father, who is a big Ray Charles fan, and his siblings who listened to a lot of rock. “I like to try and take certain scales and rhythms not usually used in house music and try to adapt them to fit into EDM” he said.


Young Avicii, pictured left, with fellow DJ Otto Knows, pictured right. Photo from Facebook


Career & Stardom


Allmusic.com says that Avicii started his musical career in 2008. He wrote his own songs, remixed others, and posted them onto internet forums for exposure. His unique house sound gained support from many top DJs like Tiësto and Pete Tong. He had a very busy career and toured constantly while also releasing new music.



  • In 2012 Avicii worked with DJ Nicky Romero to create their collaborative track ‘I Could Be the One’, which recently went Platinum according to YourEDM.


  • Avicii collaborated with Coldplay in 2014 to create “A Sky Full of Stars” and “Hymn for The Weekend” in 2016. Avicii also worked with Madonna, and she appeared on stage to introduce him at Ultra Music Festival in 2012.


Avicii at the Grammy Awards. Photo from GettyImages.com


Avicii released three albums and one EP during his career. His debut album ‘True’ came out in 2013, and it included his most popular song “Wake Me Up.” According to OfficialCharts.com, “Wake Me Up” is the top-charting dance music track of the decade (2010-2019). It has charted at number one in 22 countries to date.


  • “True” featured several well-known artists such as Nile Rodgers, Aloe Blacc and Adam Lambert. The following year, Avicii released a club remix version of the album called “True: Avicii by Avicii.”


  • Avicii’s second album “Stories” came out in 2015, which merged pop music with electronic music. This album featured artists like Zac Brown, Wyclef Jean and Martin Garrix. ‘Stories’ also reached the top spot of the Billboard dance chart.


  • Avicii released an EP titled “AVĪCI (01)” in 2017, which he said in an interview was set to be the “first of three” leading up to the release of his third studio album.


Personal Life & Struggles


Avicii had a long history of health problems, hospitalizations and surgeries throughout his career – primarily caused by alcohol abuse. “There's free alcohol everywhere—it's sort of weird if you don't drink," Bergling told GQ in an interview. "I just got into a habit, because you rely on that encouragement and self-confidence you get from alcohol, and then you get dependent on it."


  • In January 2012 Avicii was hospitalized in New York for 11 days with acute pancreatitis, a side effect of his heavy alcohol use. He told GQ he developed "like, searing abdominal pain.”


  • PopCulture.com reported that his condition “flared up again in March 2013, prompting show cancellations and another hospital stay, this time in Australia.” Doctors urged Bergling to have his gallbladder removed, but he declined because of his schedule.


  • In March 2014, the problems returned and Avicii was forced to drop out of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami so he could get his gallbladder and appendix removed through surgery.


Avicii DJing at Park City, Utah in 2013. Photo from GettyImages


  • Billboard wrote that Avicii continued to suffer from lingering health issues after the surgery and canceled his remaining shows in an attempt to recover. His representatives told Billboard in 2015 that he was canceling his tour dates again due to an “overloaded summer schedule, the pressures of delivering his second album and his directorial debut on two music videos.”


  • Avicii announced his retirement from touring in 2016 and posted it on his website (which is no longer accessible). However, his statement can be read on The Rolling Stone website. He wrote: “I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist.”


  • He released a documentary in 2017 called “Avicii: True Stories”, which showcases behind the scenes footage from his touring and the mental struggles that came along with constantly being out on the road.


  • The documentary shows Avicii repeatedly expressing how exhausted, anxious and sick he is. “There was never an end to the shows, even when I hit a wall,” the DJ states early in the film. “My life is all about stress.” Later in the film, Bergling talks about his constant touring and says “It will kill me.”


Avicii: True Stories artwork. Taken from the official website


Death & Legacy


Avicii died on April 20, 2018 at the age of 28. His cause of death revealed by TMZ to be suicide with broken glass bottles. Bergling’s family posted a statement afterword calling him “a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions.” They also said that “he really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness.”


  • Following his death, there was a posthumous album released titled “TIM,” which included many of Avicii’s unfinished works. The album was completed by his friends and family to honor his legacy.


  • An official biography called ‘Tim – The Official Biography of Avicii was released in 2021 by Swedish journalist Måns Mosesson. We Rave You interviewed Mosesson about his experience writing the biography.


  • Mosesson said he interviewed with Avicii’s family and colleagues in the music industry along with excerpts from Bergling’s diary. “It was very emotional for me to have the privilege to go through his own notes.” Mosesson explained. “When I first found what he was writing at that clinic, how strongly he shifted his way of thinking about his career and life, I actually cried the first time reading it.”


Artwork from Avicii's biography. You can buy it here


Years after his death, Avicii is still extremely relevant for the impact of his music and his tragic story. He serves not only as an inspiration for the world, but an important lesson. Keep an eye out for the new documentary coming in 2023. And if you ever visit Stockholm, Sweden, remember to check out his museum.

Opmerkingen


© 2023 by Brandon Laxton.
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