Avicii has died

Sweden's Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, died Friday at the age of 28. 'One day you'll leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember' - The Nights, Avicii  

  • Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii. Photo: Avicii AB
  • Prolific songwriter, producer and artist Avicii (AKA Tim Bergling) died on April 20 as one of the world’s highest grossing live music artists. He was 28 years old.

  • Avicii spins his 2013 hit “Wake me up.” The star DJ had to call off all his shows scheduled for the remainder of 2014 to recover from surgery earlier this year. Photo: Jalil Arfaoui
  • Bergling was born in Stockholm on Sept. 8, 1989. As a teenager he began a career as a DJ and released his first single in 2007. He released a large number of singles and remixes in the following years, quickly building a reputation as a live act and hitting the charts with singles and collaborations.

  • Image from the movie playing at the House of Sweden on April 22, 2018. www.aviciitruestories.com
  • In 2011, he broke into the international scene and in 2012 he became the first DJ to headline New York’s prestigious Radio City Music Hall. He released his debut album “True” in September 2013, and was No. 1 for a record 14 weeks on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart with “Wake Me Up,” and continued with high-profile collaborations around the globe.

  • He had some health setbacks, and was hospitalized in March 2014 and cancelled several tour appearances; but then he collaborated with Carlos Santana and Wyclef on the official FIFA World Cut Anthem “We Will Find a Way” and produced a song on Coldplay’s album “Ghost Stories.” He released his second full-length, “Stories,” in October 2015.

  • Though his health problems were known to the public, his 2016 decision to retire from touring was a surprise to his fans. “It was something I had to do for my health,” Bergling told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “The scene was not for me. It was not the shows and not the music. It was always the other stuff surrounding it that never came naturally to me. All the other parts of being an artist. I'm more of an introverted person in general. It was always very hard for me. I took on board too much negative energy, I think.”

  • His death comes just before the long-planned Washington DC screening of the film, AVICII: TRUE STORIES, scheduled for this Sunday, April 22.

  • In conjunction with the exhibition The Creative Nation: Swedish Tech and Innovation, the House of Sweden is showing AVICII: TRUE STORIES By Levan Tsikurishvili on April 22 at 3 p.m. The event is free.

    The film traces the Swedish artist/DJ’s life from his beginnings, all the way to the joy of his success, from his chart-topping global radio hits and subsequent struggles with his physical and mental health. Tsikurishvili followed Bergling for over four years, and captured fly-on-the-wall footage of his experiences and thinking. The film reveals the choices he faced and his thoughts at the time.

  • Featuring appearances by colleagues such as Chris Martin, Nile Rodgers, David Guetta and Wyclef Jean, Avicii: True Stories is a cautionary tale that explores the taxing nature and intensity of fame from the artist's point of view as much as it is a film for Avicii’s die-hard fans.

    "I wanted to do a brutally honest film about Tim as a person and not only about Avicii. Everybody knows Avicii but very few people know Tim. I think this documentary really shows Tim’s struggle and strength of character. Being a worldwide superstar artist is not as easy as it looks on Instagram,” Tsikurishvili says.

  • RSVP (it's free) here to attend the screening
    More info: http://www.aviciitruestories.com
    Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZFK3VKzQIs