Nile Rodgers opens up about ‘little brother’ Avicii

Nile Rodgers is one of those people that needs no introduction. The guitarist, songwriter, producer, and composer crafted songs such as “Le Freak,” “Everybody Dance,” and “Good Times” with his former legendary band Chic, as well as working together and producing music for David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, Mick Jagger, as well as countless others. Despite this endless list of legendary artists, Nile Rodgers admitted, in a recent interview with Complex, that Avicii is “Maybe one of the best, if not the best [melody writer] I’ve ever worked with.”

Nile and Tim were very close since they started working together on music and spent countless hours in the studio together, and Avicii was even involved in Nile Rodger’s last Chic album. However, not all sessions ultimately translated into actual tracks, you may remember the hit song ‘Lay Me Down‘, which featured Nile’s funky guitar over Avicii’s signature songwriting and catchy hooks. In the interview, he recalled how:

“Avicii is such a great natural melody writer that he can write himself out of any corner. So if I came up with some wacky jazz chord changes or progression, he would write some beautiful thing to tie it together.”

Tim was special because he didn’t have any formal musical training, but nonetheless had an ear that would pick up immediately if something was sounding good or not, and would build up his melodies one note at a time. This natural method of making music is what resulted in such unique melodies and hits.

The two also performed together in the past, but Nile was left upset when he heard that Tim had been drinking alcohol again as promised him he would stop. Despite the struggles, the two always stayed close, and the death of the Swedish producer left a big void in Nile Rodgers heart, who considered Tim like a little brother. Here are his thoughts on the day he heard the terrible news.