"One day you'll leave this world behind so live a life you will remember," as sang in 'The Nights'. Tim Bergling also known as Avicii, was one of the biggest touring DJs in the world. "I'm a DJ. I know how to get the party started," Tim Bergling once said. Speaking to David Morris in 2012, Tim Bergling, then 23, recounted, "When I started out touring, everything was different. All the shows were smaller, it was more clubs. I was partying a lot more and obviously there were more girls, more alcohol - more everything."
Of alcohol, he recognized, "I’ve been having health difficulties, so I’ve stopped drinking … It's challenging, too, because alcohol is everywhere. It's there all the time - on your show days, on your days off - always." On reflection in 2017, Tim Bergling told 'Rolling Stone', "… Parties can be amazing, but it's very easy to become too attached to partying in places like Ibiza. You become lonely and get anxieties. It becomes toxic."
David Morris reported, "To understand the true magnitude of his reach, you need only have attended his performance at the Electric Daisy Carnival, where he served as the master of ceremonies to more than 80,000 fans at the festival’s main stage." Jason Strauss explained, "We've seen him evolve - he's putting together unbelievable songs and hits that resonate with our younger, hipper demographic."
David Morris continued, "And it's precisely this younger, hipper demographic that has made him so successful. Corporate brands have been quick to recognize this. He's the face of a Ralph Lauren line; has raised millions for the charity he founded with his manager, House For Hunger; and he branded his own pop-up hotel at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival."
Of the charity, House for Hunger, Tim Bergling disclosed at the time, "We just donated a million euros towards hunger relief in Africa and Sweden, and we did the same with feeding America - a million dollars. From the start, me and my manager wanted to try to fill a charitable void in the EDM scene. We try to involve House for Hunger in anything we can. During the Winter Music Conference this year, we produced a charity show and had a branded hotel. All the profits went to charity. We are also doing joint ventures with the House for Hunger and Ralph Lauren, and we're trying to involve all our friends and other artists. It’s been a great way to give back."
Of the electronic dance music, Tim Bergling told 'Rolling Stone', "EDM started getting oversaturated four, five, six years ago (as far back as 2011), when money became everything. From that point, I started mentally not wanting to associate myself with EDM. Now (in 2017) that I have more time in the studio, I want to learn as much about other genres as possible. That's what I love the most – having a session with Nile Rodgers, for instance, and getting an understanding of music that's invaluable."
Tim Bergling also told 'The Hollywood Reporter', "The music is still growing, it's still evolving. That's why, in a way, I had to make the decision I did (to stop touring). Because I don't feel that EDM is going to stop. So I had to figure out how am I going to deal with that? Am I going to be able to go on this train for another eight years (to age 34)?"
Of music, "Obviously there is stuff that I wouldn't play in a club that I play at festivals and vice versa, but my sets are still dominated largely by my own music. I think that's what makes me stand out a bit. My music is also festival and club-friendly, so it generally works out well. Lyrics are important (to make the track dance-friendly), but it's hard, because English isn't my first language - although it feels like it is these days (in 2012)!
"It's hard - some people get inspired by a feeling, but I'm mostly inspired by melodies … I grew up with amazing melodies, so getting that right on a song has always been the key thing for me, but there's no reason why a great melody doesn't deserve great lyrics." Tim Bergling also told 'The Guardian', "Dance music is like a virus: it has affected so many different genres."
In 2016, Tim Bergling shocked fans with the announcement of his retirement from live touring. Speaking to 'The Hollywood Reporter', Tim Bergling expressed, "I was nervous when I made the announcement, mainly that I would look ungrateful. But I've gotten so many supportive texts from friends in the industry, other DJs, other artists. The fan response has been incredible. And even the press response has been incredible. So yeah, it's been a lot better than I expected.
"It's been a very crazy journey. I started producing when I was 16. I started touring when I was 18. From that point on, I just jumped into it 100%. When I look back on my life (at age 26), I think, 'Whoa, did I do that?' It was the best time of my life in a sense. It came with a price — a lot of stress a lot of anxiety for me — but it was the best journey of my life."
In 2011, Tyler Haruta of 'Magnetic Magazine' reported, "Tim Berg must have committed a horrible misdeed in a past life. After spending some time with the Swedish DJ and producer whiz kid, better known as Avicii, this was the conclusion I arrived at. Meeting him was a transcendental experience; one of the most hyped electronic acts of the current music cycle comes packaged in a slender frame, with boyish good looks, and scraggly blond hair, though an ethereal aura radiates from him like incense smoke billowing from a wooden burner.
"Was this the key to his monumental success? Did Berg reach Nirvana only to bring its bliss to us suffering mortals through his beautifully positive and euphoric music?
I admit, my keen journalistic instincts got the best of me: I spent hours researching Buddhism and the origins of Berg’s most used alias 'Avicii', only to stumble upon some enlightening results.
"As it turns out, the pseudonym stems from a level of Naraka, or the Buddhist variation of Hell, where offenders spend time working off the negative karma they accumulated through their living actions.
Whether it’s coincidence or just reincarnation, Berg’s recent rise to EDM stardom and international success seems to imply the aforementioned transgressions.
"For instance, his career has been carefully directed by his mentor and manager, Ash (Pournouri), whose fatherly guidance could be the karmatic backlash of a past life patricide. Likewise, his 'bromances' with EDM divinity, world-renowned DJs like Tiësto and Swedish House Mafia, could indicate the antecedent shedding of Buddha or enlightened being blood.
"Or perhaps it is his music, a mixture of upbeat, anthem-driven trance and fist-pumping, melodic Swedish house, uniting electronic music ascetics of all kinds, that remedies a forced rift within the Buddhist paradigm in a prior existence. Interestingly enough, 'Avici' is also commonly referred to as the 'non-stop way', as its inhabitants enter a prodigious amount of 'kalpas', or eons, where they go through a lifetime of purification only to be reborn and do it again.
"This too seems applicable to Berg, who discusses the tireless process of touring, going from town to town, the boredom of waiting at a venue before and after performing, and the schedule that prevents him from spending time with friends and family. Not only this, but Berg has reincarnated himself under many aliases through the course of his short career (Tim Berg, Avicii, Tom Hangs), an endless stream of identities that obscure who he really is.
"Translated from Sanskrit/Pali to English, Avicii means 'without waves.' And above all else, this seems to be the state Tim Berg currently (in 2011) subsists in. When I asked him what music he listens to on his downtime, he replied that he doesn’t, preferring silence after being bombarded with music all day, every day. Amidst all the attention, the flurry of media and industry buzz, the endless praise from his colleagues and fans, Berg attempts to maintain his humble and optimistic attitude, acting as the calm ocean emitting waves to the distant shore. Withal considered, I’m not sure if Tim Berg went through Avici already or is going through it now (in 2011). But one thing is for certain: the world is not ready for him to be silent just yet."
'Rolling Stone' 2017: There's a scene in the film where you talk about reading Carl Jung and realizing you're an introvert. What's the last good book you read?
Tim Bergling: 'The Untethered Soul', by Michael A. Singer. It's about consciousness. None of us today can f---ing handle our emotions - most of us are running around being reactive. That's why I had to stop touring, because I couldn't read my emotions the right way.
'Rolling Stone': You worked on Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' album a couple of years ago. Have you stayed in touch with her?
Tim Bergling: Not really. I'd love to work with her again, but that was right when I was busiest, and I think she might have been disappointed in me for not being able to put in as much time as she wanted. A lot of things start suffering when you don't have the energy or time to do things properly. You think you can get away with it, but the quality suffers.
In 2012, Tim Bergling spoke to David Morris about meeting and working with Madonna on her track 'Girl Gone Wild', "She presented me at the Ultra Music Festival which was incredible. She introduced herself to me about an hour before that and it was completely surreal. She's arguably the biggest artist in the world. She's someone everyone has grown up with and it was such an honor. It was also nice of her to come to my scene rather than me putting stuff forward for her. She was super sweet! Very professional. Nothing was uncomfortable. I'd definitely work with her again, if she wanted to."
"Or perhaps it is his music, a mixture of upbeat, anthem-driven trance and fist-pumping, melodic Swedish house, uniting electronic music ascetics of all kinds, that remedies a forced rift within the Buddhist paradigm in a prior existence. Interestingly enough, 'Avici' is also commonly referred to as the 'non-stop way', as its inhabitants enter a prodigious amount of 'kalpas', or eons, where they go through a lifetime of purification only to be reborn and do it again.
"This too seems applicable to Berg, who discusses the tireless process of touring, going from town to town, the boredom of waiting at a venue before and after performing, and the schedule that prevents him from spending time with friends and family. Not only this, but Berg has reincarnated himself under many aliases through the course of his short career (Tim Berg, Avicii, Tom Hangs), an endless stream of identities that obscure who he really is.
"Translated from Sanskrit/Pali to English, Avicii means 'without waves.' And above all else, this seems to be the state Tim Berg currently (in 2011) subsists in. When I asked him what music he listens to on his downtime, he replied that he doesn’t, preferring silence after being bombarded with music all day, every day. Amidst all the attention, the flurry of media and industry buzz, the endless praise from his colleagues and fans, Berg attempts to maintain his humble and optimistic attitude, acting as the calm ocean emitting waves to the distant shore. Withal considered, I’m not sure if Tim Berg went through Avici already or is going through it now (in 2011). But one thing is for certain: the world is not ready for him to be silent just yet."
'Rolling Stone' 2017: There's a scene in the film where you talk about reading Carl Jung and realizing you're an introvert. What's the last good book you read?
Tim Bergling: 'The Untethered Soul', by Michael A. Singer. It's about consciousness. None of us today can f---ing handle our emotions - most of us are running around being reactive. That's why I had to stop touring, because I couldn't read my emotions the right way.
'Rolling Stone': You worked on Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' album a couple of years ago. Have you stayed in touch with her?
Tim Bergling: Not really. I'd love to work with her again, but that was right when I was busiest, and I think she might have been disappointed in me for not being able to put in as much time as she wanted. A lot of things start suffering when you don't have the energy or time to do things properly. You think you can get away with it, but the quality suffers.
In 2012, Tim Bergling spoke to David Morris about meeting and working with Madonna on her track 'Girl Gone Wild', "She presented me at the Ultra Music Festival which was incredible. She introduced herself to me about an hour before that and it was completely surreal. She's arguably the biggest artist in the world. She's someone everyone has grown up with and it was such an honor. It was also nice of her to come to my scene rather than me putting stuff forward for her. She was super sweet! Very professional. Nothing was uncomfortable. I'd definitely work with her again, if she wanted to."
'Magnetic Magazine' 2011: You produce under multiple aliases. For our readers unfamiliar with your work, could you choose an animal that best captures the essence of each one?
Avicii: Avicii is probably a dog trying to make people happy. Tom Hangs would be a puppy for amplifying that effect, and Tim Berg - an anteater or some equally badass underground-like animal.
