Avicii

I've tried plenty of telephones. I tried to get into the Samsung Galaxy and the Blackberry, but the iPhone is just too easy to use. The camera takes clear pictures and the phone itself looks great. Like all Apple products, it kind of just makes sense.

I always used to travel without a passport case, and because of it I think I'm four passports in. I bought this small Tumi case to protect my new one, and it works really well, not just for protecting it but also for keeping credit cards and small stuff. I just throw it in my bag when I'm traveling, as opposed to stuffed in my pocket.

I've always had a fascination with making your own music but never have been skilled enough to play the instrument, so to be able to make music without the ability was awesome.

I grew up listening to a lot of Ray Charles and '60s rock, thanks to my father, and then my brothers got me in to KISS and whatnot, so I guess that's where I got my first taste for music.

I tried carrying the weight of the world. But I only have two hands.

I've always worn a lot of Ralph Lauren, and plaid shirts in general have been a signature piece for me. With plaid, you can look super-relaxed or you can look a bit dressed up.

A lot of work and thinking goes into my DJing. I want the entire night to progress seamlessly and when I have to adapt the energy on the fly for the crowd on any given night, I can do so with harmonic mixes that Ive practiced over and over again. I am far from the only DJ that does this and its something I take pride in being able to do.

I love DJing, I do. I love everything that comes with it; it's fun and it's kind of glamorous.

When it comes to electronic music, I started listening to a lot of Daft Punk, way before I knew what house music was, and then progressed into a lot of Steve Angello, Eric Prydz, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Laidback Luke.

I travel with a bunch of battery packs because I don't always have time to charge my phone at the hotel room when I'm traveling. I always change them, so I never run out of battery.

My dad has always been a big Ray Charles fan, and I've grown up listening to all kinds of music.

I can't tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

I think I am a pretty good judge of character in general and try to surround myself with the best people I can.

Life's a game made for everyone, and love is the prize.

House music originated in America, and it has always been around, but I guess it just got a tighter hold on Europe and other parts of the world.

I have always been mainstream. It's so weird, because I don't see it as something negative at all. So many people see it as something negative.

It's hard - some people get inspired by a feeling, but I'm mostly inspired by melodies.

I make sure to use both Twitter and Facebook a lot which helps me connect to the fans.

I always just sit down at the piano and make the main hook—what I want the track to be about melodically—and then I’ll build everything else around that. But growing up, I did not play any instruments.

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.

People in Sweden are very conscious of what people are saying about you.

There's always haters, no matter what you're doing - whether they're complaining that everything you do sounds the same, or it's too different.

When I started working on electronic music, that was after the rave period. I haven't even seen that part of it that much.

Dance music is like a virus, it has affected so many different genres.

There's always so much music around me now, it seems like everything has to be something with music, so in my spare time I try not to listen to anything. It's so hard for me to listen to something without trying to see a benefit in it: "Maybe I'll make my own version of that track or maybe I'll do this or that." When I'm off I just don't want to hear anything.

I've always been a producer - that's how I see myself first. The DJing came second as a way for me to be able to perform.

I'm good at melody - I'll write the top-line melody and ideal words I want to go with it. But I'm not that good at writing lyrics. I bounce those back and forth with songwriters or someone who can sing.

I would never lay down a pre-programmed set and perform to a pre-mixed CD; I would never cheat my fans like that.

To me, I'm always trying to look for the energy, to imagine in being played on the dance floor. I guess that's the most important thing in making music for me.

I don't really look at the charts at all. If anything, I try to out-do what I've done before. I try to make music that I like and I trust my own judgement with what will work with a wider audience. If you compare yourself to the charts, you lose perspective on what you're doing and why you're doing it.

I have a hard time writing music when I'm on tour.

Life's a game made for everyone and love is the prize. So wake me up when it's all over - when I'm wiser and I'm older. All this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost.

If I wanted to make a quick buck, there's far easier ways of doing it. What I want is to provoke people. If you want a hit song, all you need to do is rewrite an old song. It might have been proven to work, but you won't be remembered the same way.

I actually only started listening to house music around the time I started making it. I got hooked both to making music and to house music.

I'm a DJ. I get the party started.

When I started out, I was Avici with one i. But on MySpace, that name was taken.

Author details

Avicii: Biography and Life Work

Avicii was a notable DJ. The story of Avicii began on 8 September 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden. The legacy of Avicii continues today, following their passing on 20 April 2018 in Muscat, Oman.

Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii , was a Swedish DJ , remixer, and record producer . His musical style was primarily pop-oriented house music , and he is an influence on many artists. Several music publications have credited Avicii as one of the DJs who took electronic music to Top 40 radio in the early 2010s. He is considered one of the most popular and successful electronic dance music (EDM) genre artists of all time.

Philosophical Views and Reflections

In June, "Wake Me Up" was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On October 30, 2020, the American singer Cam released the track "The Otherside", which Avicii co-wrote. The version included on the eponymous album does not feature the DJ's original instrumentals, which were removed to align with the album's country style, but it retains the lyrics written by Avicii. A biography titled Tim – The Official Biography of Avicii was released in the UK and North America on 16 November 2021. Kitty Empire of The Guardian described it as "An honest study of the shy young man turned superstar DJ". A second tribute concert was held at the Avicii Arena on 1 December, and a third tribute concert, titled "Together for a Better Day", was held at the same venue on 6 December 2023.

The museum was the idea of Bergling's parents, who wanted to give fans a place to remember and celebrate the work of Avicii and learn about his music-creation process. The interactive museum also includes exhibitions depicting several stages in Avicii's life, including a simulation of the high-paced lifestyle he experienced before his retirement from touring in 2016. These exhibits are designed to give visitors an understanding of the health issues Avicii faced. Exhibitions are also dedicated to raising awareness of mental health problems in young people and the wider music industry.

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Empery Quotes
Inspire · Reflect · Repeat