On April 20, 2018, the Music Industry stood still. In my hometown it was a Sunny April day; a refreshing supplement of Vitamin C in an otherwise very rainy month of April which we expect in the North East. Leaf’s had yet to start poking their heads out of the baron branches, but you can tell the little guys were starting to party in there. What I’m saying, it was a beautiful day in a month that usually has the most unpredictable weather of the year in New England. You can look at any person that holds Electronic Music close and ask them the question “where were you on April 20, 2018” and you will get a similar response. A detailed description of the day, where they were and how they found out. Found out that the forefather of the EDM world had lost his life. Avicii, Tim Bergling, was 28-years-old and passed in Oman while on holiday. The day flushed us with the emotion comparable to having just a childhood friend. Though we never met him, he lived in all of us. l I was driving down I-91 when text’s started coming in, twitter started giving updates, CNN, Fox News, you name it, the headlines were identical “Swedish DJ, Avicii dead at 28”.
Avicii “TIM”
So here we are, a bit over a year after the passing of Tim and we are receiving an installation of work done by the Tim prior to his untimely passing. I have gone back and fourth on this, should they be releasing his music after his death? Did he finish this stuff? Is this the product TIM would have wanted released? Is this 100% organic? At the end of the day, I have come to the following conclusion: it doesn't really matter.
Avicii brought more happiness to the world in his short career than many artists do in a lifetime. From Seek Bromance to Avīci, his melodies shined a light on the social media boom and brought the world an outlet to their mini screen consumed lives. With the “Tim” album being released, this is goodbye. A goodbye we all need. A goodbye that will bring us even more overwhelmed emotion than the first time we heard “Wake Me Up” during Avicii’s live set at Ultra 2013. Whether you were a fan of Tim or not (and I have no idea if there will be more music released under his name), this is the closing of a chapter, but not the closing of a legacy and a legend that will live on through the rhythm of the night (shout out Corona).
Rest in Paradise, Tim – September 8, 1989 – April 20, 2018
Listen to Avicii’s “TIM” below. All proceeds of streaming will be going to charity.
