The docufilm about the Swedish DJ and producer Avicii arrives on Netflix on December 31st, directed by Henrik Burman and produced by Björn Tjärnberg. The project, entitled “Avicii – I’m Tim”, tells the private life and career of the famous DJ – “From the very first breath in the maternity ward in Stockholm in 1989 to the tragic end in Oman” – through the voice of the protagonist himself and through the use of unpublished material, such as photographs, videos and exclusive interviews with friends, colleagues and family of the latter, who passed away dramatically in 2018 in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Let’s now discover the true story of the DJ who inspired the Netflix docufilm “Avicii – I’m Tim”.
Avicii – I’m Tim: the true story of the DJ
Born on September 8, 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden, Avicii, born Tim Bergling, was a Swedish record producer, disc jockey and composer until April 20, 2018, the date of his tragic death by suicide (it seems he suffered from depression) , which occurred in Oman at the age of 28. Son of Klas Bergling and actress Anki Lidén, the young man had three brothers: David Bergling, Linda Sterner and Anton Körberg. His passion for music began at the age of 8, when he began mixing in his bedroom and then became a member of Laidback Luke Forums and perfected his talent there.
Avicii’s career – the meaning of the name is “waveless” – took off in 2008, when Ash Pournouri discovered him, later becoming his manager and signing him to his agency, At Night Management. Initially the stage name chosen was Avici, with a single ‘i’ at the end, then changed to two ‘i’s because the first nickname already existed on MySpace. In 2010 he was already quite well known in the music scene, so much so that Tiësto considered him the “Best Promising DJ/Producer of the Year”.
Avicii’s notable collaborations and musical successes
Many collaborations with great artists: we remember the remixes of the tracks for Little Boots, Robyn and Dizzee Rascal, but also that of the song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, entitled “Swede Dreams”. Not missing were: David Guetta, whose album “Nothing but the Beat” contains “Sunshine”, created in collaboration with Avicii; Madonna, for the production of the album “Rebel Heart”, also contributing to the writing and production of some songs such as “Devil Pray”, “Wash All Over Me”, “HeartBreakCity”, and “Messiah”; Chris Martin, who asked Avicii to collaborate on the song “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay: he did so, but to please the artist he had to produce 600 versions of the song before arriving at the ideal solution.
The first song with which he gained popularity was “Seek Bromance”, where Amanda Wilson accompanied him. Then in 2011 he signed the album “Blessed” with the Shermanology brothers, however using the name Tom Hangs. In his musical career he has released two albums, “True” (2013) and “Stories” (2015), along with numerous hits, such as “My Feelings for You”, “Hey Brother”, “Waiting for Love”, “Without You ”, “I Could Be the One”, and “The Days” (in collaboration with Robbie Williams), but his biggest hits were “Levels” (among the best-selling tracks in 2010, at tenth position in the Italian charts and at the 66th on the Billboard Hot 100) and “Wake Me Up”. We also remember that Avicii was the only Swedish DJ to enter the Top 3 of DJ Magazine’s prestigious Top100 DJs ranking, obtaining third place in both 2012 and 2013.
Withdrawal from live shows and tours and health problems
The Swedish DJ decided to stop performing live shows and tours at the end of 2016 due to “health problems and excessive stress”, however continuing his career as a music producer. He later also revealed that he had undergone surgery to remove his gallbladder, as well as his appendix, underlining that in the past he had also suffered from acute pancreatitis, probably all problems due to alcohol abuse; in 2013, in fact, during an interview given to the microphones of Timehe said: “I drank too much and in general I partied too much. So I forced myself to completely reverse course and stop drinking.”
On 28 August 2016 he held his last concert at Ushuaïa Ibiza after announcing his retirement via a letter dedicated to fans. In the same year the artist left his manager, Ash Pournouri, and At Night Management and then announced the new EP, “Avicii (01)” in 2017, followed by the release of the next two, “Avicii ( 02)” and “Avicii (03)”: all together they were to compose his third album. Also in 2017 he revealed the arrival of the documentary “Avicii: True Stories”, at the time available on Netflix, which tells the story of his retirement from touring also through interviews with colleagues such as David Guetta, Wyclef Jean, Nile Rodgers and Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Avicii: his disappearance and the foundation dedicated to him
After his death, due to bleeding caused by cuts with pieces of a wine bottle, Avicii’s team announced the release of the new single “SOS” and the album “TIM” (also containing the song “Heaven” ), published posthumously and whose proceeds were donated to the non-profit Tim Bergling foundation which deals with the prevention of mental disorders and suicide and was founded by the parents of the young 28-year-old after his death.
