Avicii Birthday Special: Tim’s Most Iconic Moments

On the 8th September 1989, a true legend was born. Sadly, on 20th April 2018, the gem that sparkled brightest in the sky full of stars, faded into darkness, when Tim Bergling (aka Avicii) was found dead in Muscat, Oman. Since that tragic Friday afternoon, tributes have poured in worldwide from all of the world’s biggest DJs and producers, paying respect to the impact that Tim had on the dance music scene. With today marking what would have been the Swede’s 29th birthday, We Rave You honour the truly unique artist with a trip down memory lane.

These are… Avicii’s most iconic moments…

#1 Super You & Me debut

First picked up by Laidback Luke, a baby-faced Tim had been flooding Reddit forums with his bedroom productions, when the Dutchman decided to take a chance on the teenage talent, plunging him into the deep end, with a spot at his ‘Super You & Me’ party in Miami, alongside the likes of Diplo, A-Trak, Chocolate Puma, and another breakthrough producer, a Dutch DJ by the name of Hardwell. Avicii delivered a blistering performance, and soon began to attract interest worldwide, landing a spot as a support act for Tiësto‘s Ibiza residency.

#2 Taking things to new LE7ELS

There’s a heart-warming moment in Avicii’s ‘True Stories’ documentary when Tim, and then-manager Ash Pournouri start giggling wildly as the Swede calls his mentor into the room to listen to a new track he’s made. Layering the famous Etta James vocal on top of his already sumptuous melody, ‘LE7ELS’ was born, and even Tim and Ash, giddy through their smiles of excitement, could never have imagined the impact the track would have on the music industry. Arguably the greatest EDM record of all time, the song has cemented a reputation as one of the most timeless classics ever made.

#3 The Avicii Hotel, Miami

With the producer now rapidly becoming the hottest property in world dance music, the excitement for Tim’s arrival at Miami Music Week 2013 was approaching fever pitch levels, when his management team cleverly decided to drop a brand new branch to the ever-growing brand. Opening ‘The Avicii hotel’ along the famous Ocean Drive in South Beach, guests staying at the property were treated to Avicii-branded bath robes, soap packages, and slippers, as Tim skyrocketed to true global domination ahead of Ultra Music Festival.

#4 Wake Me Up – Tim’s greatest triumph

With Bergling deciding to debut a genre-change to the biggest dance festival in world music, Ultra Music Festival, he played track after track of a country & western-infused unreleased new album, in place of his singalong anthems like “Silhouettes” and “I Could Be The One”. The fuss the fiasco caused is legendary. Dance website Dancing Astronaut labelled the set “too advanced for dancemusic”, whilst Avicii himself issued an official statement in the aftermath that read:

“Wow looks like I stirred up some controversy with my set Friday night at UMF. Seeing a lot of people who don’t understand. I really wanted to switch things up and do something fun and different, as I always strive for, and this album is about experimentation and about showing the endless possibilities of house and electronic music. My album is certainly not “country”, and people have gotten hung up on an instrument we used for the live cover of a song. People will soon see what it’s all about.”

Soon, Tim’s risky project proved his biggest success, as ‘Wake Me Up’ became the most streamed song of all time on Spotify, and resulting album ‘True‘ went multi-platinum all across the world.

#5 Ushuaïa Ibiza: The Final Show

By the time the festival season of 2016 finished, Tim had already announced his intention to quit touring for good, such was the strain it was causing on his body. Performing a closing slot on Creamfields’ Horizon Stage on the Saturday evening, Tim flew out to Ibiza for one final show, at the iconic Ushuaïa Beach Hotel, the scene of his previous summer residencies. Leaving crowds open-jaw in amazement as he worked through a flurry of his biggest hits, Avicii’s final show was to be one of his greatest of all time, and left his footprint ingrained in the scene forever.

On Saturday 8th September 2018, Tim might not be with us physically. But he’ll always remain in our hearts. From all the team at We Rave You… Happy Birthday Avicii.