LISTEN: Avicii’s 20 biggest forgotten gems

Though best known for his iconic dance tracks like ‘I Could Be The One’ and ‘Seek Bromance‘, or worldwide radio smash hits like ‘Wake Me Up’, Swedish DJ and producer Avicii was the master of several enormous productions – many of which never burst into the mainstream consciousness in the way of the affore-mentioned. Credited as the pioneer of a deliciously individual melodic sound between 2009-2013, Avicii’s early progressive tracks became instantly recognised within the dance music community with many labelling them as sounds they had never heard before.

A true pioneer, who was also responsible for several huge IDs which were never released, today, We Rave You honour a collection of Avicii’s forgotten gems that may have never received the same levels of coverage as his best-known anthems, but remain every part as brilliant…

ALCOHOLIC

Back when ‘Avicii’ was still releasing music as ‘Tim Berg’, the 7-minute version of ‘Alcoholic‘ was one of the first tracks that really catapulted the then-teenage prodigy into the consciousness of Laidback Luke – who gave Tim his first chance, with a spot at his ‘Super You & Me’ party in Miami in 2009.

SOMETIMES I FEEL

A crisp slice of progressive perfection from Tim’s ‘Strictly Miami‘ LP, ‘Sometimes I Feel‘ was Avicii’s first collaboration with Sebastien Drums, as the duo later teamed up on 2010 banger ‘My Feelings For You.’

SUPERLOVE

Teaming up with the legendary Lenny Kravitz, ‘Superlove‘ soon became one of Avicii’s biggest club tracks of all time, thanks to a truly irresistible breakdown and astounding singalong vocal.

STREET DANCER

The track that was used in the promo video to tease Avicii’s iconic show at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena in London in June 2012, ‘Street Dancer‘ uses a rattling high-tempo build, before launching into a vibrant breakdown.

BOM

A deep afterhours track which rumbles into life, the hook of ‘Bom’ serves as a showcase for all of Avicii’s brilliantly melodic yet progressive early sounds.

NEW NEW NEW

A truly timeless remix of Bob Sinclar’s original, the Avicii reworking of this Miami favourite is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greatest dance tracks ever made. Every chord = perfection.

MY FEELINGS FOR YOU

Teaming up with that man Sebastien Drums again, ‘My Feelings For You‘ served as the follow up to Avicii’s huge summer 2010 anthem ‘Seek Bromance’, which was soon snapped by dance label giants Ministry of Sound.

BLESSED

Flirting between several monikers and aliases, Tim chose to produce under the name ‘Tom Hangs’ for a short period in 2012, and Tom was every part as great as Tim, with Avicii bringing us ‘Blessed’ which was later used in the famous Stolichnaya vodka television commercial.

DANCING IN MY HEAD

Still a firm favourite with Avicii fans worldwide, Eric Turner (Tinie Tempah‘s ‘Written In The Stars’) took the helm on vocals on this massive dancefloor filler, which featured a quirky video where a man tried to cut his own brain out.

SPEED

As Avicii’s music began to resonate across the world, his brand continued to grow, and he was tasked with creating a track for the Lotus Formula 1 team. It is, of course, a task he pulled off with aplomb, creating a melody-packed classic.

SUNSHINE

Forever remembered as one the most iconic dance tracks ever made, Avicii’s 2011 collaboration with French superstar David Guetta saw the duo bring the ‘Sunshine’ to every festival, as David’s ‘Nothing But The Beat’ dominated chart positions across the globe.

ESCAPE ME

Having worked alongside EDM Godfather Tiesto during the Dutchman’s 2010 residency at Privilege Ibiza, Tim remixed the trance legend’s popular Kaleidoscope hit ‘Escape Me’, and transformed it into one of the most universally acclaimed reworks of all time.

HANG WITH ME

A record which encapsulates everything Avicii’s early sound was known for, the ‘Hang With Me’ remix, featuring the vocal talents of Robyn, premieres Tim’s penchant for the progressive, whilst utilising his iconic piano melodies.

DEREZZED

When Daft Punk and Avicii come together, the result – is quite predictably – brilliant. Taken from the soundtrack of 2011 Disney film TRON Legacy, pure electronica goodness oozes throughout the upbeat and addictive release.

DROWNING

Another collaboration between two of the finest minds in dance music, Avicii’s take on Armin Van Buuren‘s 2011 classic is highly emotional and euphoric, in no small part thanks to the incredible vocal performance of Laura V.

GIRL GONE WILD

When Madonna asks you to work with her, you never say no. And after performing alongside the pop Queen during Ultra Music Festival in Miami circa 2012, Tim put his spin on her MDNA release ‘Girl Gone Bad.’

RAPTURE

One of dance music’s finest voices, Nadia Ali, laces the iconic ‘Rapture’ with her beautifully rich performance before Avicii wades in with a flurry of high-energy melodic chords on the track’s drop and consequent breakdown.

X YOU

Launching a special competition in 2013 to celebrate his Facebook followers, Tim asked for fans to send him different compositions, piecing the results together to make the collaborative ‘X You.’

BACK WHERE I BELONG

Fast forward to June 2016, and a collaboration with lifetime friend, and school class mate, Otto Knows. The fellow Swede, best known for his 2012 EDM classic ‘Million Voices’ teams his own exciting build, with Tim’s emotional breakdown

SKY FULL OF STARS

The final track in our list arrives in the shape of Coldplay‘s 2014 ballad ‘A Sky Full of Stars’, produced by Avicii. The track contains a line which is perhaps the most appropriate lyric we can use right now to pay tribute to Tim’s lasting legacy:

“‘Cause you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars,
Such a heavenly view.”