Few names in the electronic dance music (EDM) world have routed themselves in the hearts of fans so deeply in such short period as Avicii. Swedish music producer and DJ Tim Bergling passed away April 20, 2018, leaving the electric music industry quite shaken. However, his powerful beats and catchy tunes gave birth to a number of EDM fans’ souls.
Avicii was a magician of sound, concocting musical spells that made the world dance. His tracks weren’t mere songs; they were anthems that coursed through clubs, festivals and even everyday life. It was nothing short of a musical phenomenon.
What made Tim Berling, better known as Avicii, so unique was his ability to enmesh musical genres without difficulty. Too often, EDM producers were restrained by the limits of their bounce or drop, a waiting period prefaced by the ticking of interminable melodies, before finally hearing the fire. The goal was to drop pulsating low tempo hybrids that could be dropped in the context of a DJ Set; they were meant to beat out a rigid framework of four-four time thanks to how quickly dance music moves. But Avicii was smarter, imbuing pop, progressive house and much more into his carefree meld. All of his tracks — “Levels,” “Sunshine,” “Fade Into Darkness,” “Silhouettes” — defy traditional categorization. And then came the earthy, folky tracks “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother,” both of which wound up on his debut album “True.”
But what set Avicii apart from the other DJs behind the turntables was that he never lost sight of one simple truth: His job as a DJ was to make sure the people were dancing their asses off.
And that’s what he did. Every festival, every venue, every performance, every song, every beat — it didn’t matter the size of the crowd or whether he had the best or worst day, his goal was to see the smile on the people’s faces and to make sure their knees hurt in the morning because they danced all bloody day.
He was a master of melodies, but really, he was a storyteller. Each song was a story of adventure, of love, of life, of… well, we still don’t know, because officially, the cause of his death is unknown.
It doesn’t matter, really. The music was already too boisterous to not be. Avicii’s songs weren’t just psychedelic ecstasy-dripping beats; they were emotions. The premier songwriter of practically every Avicii track, Ash Pournouri, scoured the heavens for vocalists, from Madonna to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, to tell the story Scarred for Life; and Leona Lewis, for her song Collide, assured the story was just perfect. RuntimeObject, Evolsine and a dozen other producers helped tell the story of My Feelings for You.
But the Swedish producer’s reach was far beyond the realm of music, where he was a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of personal demons. Mr. Bergling spoke openly about his ill health and encouraged others who were struggling to seek help. He became a leading advocate for resources and treatment, and sparked a global conversation.
It’s a stretch to say that Avicii, whose given name was Tim Bergling, was the Mozart of his time. But he was every bit as universal a talent. From Sweden he sent his music across the globe, where it resonated in communities speaking different languages and celebrating different cultures. His was an extraordinary act of human commonality.
Avicii’s untimely demise in 2018 leaves a void that will never be filled yet his music keeps regaling our lives. Every beat, every note and every lyric serves as a reminder of the extraordinary talent that he was and the extraordinary man that he was.
In an era drowning in the transient noise of trends and superficiality, Avicii represented an icon who was timeless. His music was not just here to pass time, it was here to stay. It became a part of the structures of the past that define the contemporary musical landscape. This world of Electronic Dance Music also proclaimed him as the greatest pledge of his generation. Little did they or we know, that his legacy would stay and inspire away continents and cultures and for sure tens of artists for decades.
So, next time you hear the beats of a new Avicii track, let the music take you away. Dance like nobody’s watching. Sing like nobody’s listening. And hear the story that he wove into every chord and beat.
With Avicii, it’s not just a song. It’s truth. It’s connection. It’s a love that spans all of time and space.
