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Avicii
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Avicii was the stage name of Tim Bergling, a Swedish DJ and producer from Stockholm, where he was born in 1989. At sixteen he began making music with a pirated copy of the program FL Studio and put his remixes on internet forums to get reactions. He took his name from Avīci, the deepest level of hell in Buddhism. He chose it because his real name was already taken on Myspace.
Music and breakthrough
In 2011 he released Levels, which reached the top ten in fifteen countries and was his breakthrough. His music was above all house with a pop feel: big, cheerful synthesizer melodies, a solid four-on-the-floor beat and a chorus that was sung along to in packed halls. On his debut album True (2013) he went further. He mixed house with folk, country and bluegrass, with acoustic guitars and singers such as Aloe Blacc. The single Wake Me Up became one of the most streamed tracks on Spotify. In 2015 Stories followed.
Influence
Avicii helped bring electronic dance music, EDM, to the big pop audience and is regarded as one of the most successful DJs ever. Behind the success was a shy young man who struggled with anxiety, alcohol and later painkillers. In 2016 he stopped performing. In 2018 he died in Oman, aged 28. A year later the album Tim was still released.
Listening
Levels · Avicii, 2011Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 8: Electronic MusicNL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- EDM Genre
Avicii built Levels on a vocal sample of Etta James, and Martin Garrix made Animals on a laptop in his bedroom.