| To put it lightly, what Avicii and his manager Ash have managed to  achieve in just a few years is truly astonishing. Commencing his dizzying  journey at the tender age of 18, the self-taught, fresh-faced Swedish luminary  has unquestionably amassed greater success by the age of 22 than most could  ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. The mastermind behind chart-topping phenomena Seek Bromance, My Feelings For You, Fade into Darkness and the current global  obsession that is Levels,he has soared from budding bedroom  music-maker to international electronic sensation in a matter of years.  Reaching #6 in the ‘DJ Mag Top 100’ 2011 poll, without even a whisper of  promotion, Avicii already stands shoulder-to-shoulder with just a handful of the  most in-demand and elite DJs on the planet. We can only dare to imagine what  will be accomplished in a whole career…   From the off, the prodigal wiz-kid has been driven by a  determination to sculpt fresh, innovative and forward thinking electronic music.  It’s what he does best. Enamored with production technology, and never one to  get caught up in the particularities of sub-genres and musical trends, the countless  hours he spent as a youngster immersed in the screens, synths and keyboards of  his home studio have paid serious dividends. As he continues to deliver record  after record of truly original and blissful makings, one thing has become blatantly  clear for all to see – Avicii is a young man gifted with an unparalleled,  innate ability to create inventive electronic sounds of the highest order.    In 2008, Avicii met Ash Pournouri - an introduction that proved to  be the beginning of a more prolific and creative relationship than either could  have fathomed. Ash, with an ear and eye for ‘raw talent’ spotted Tim on an  online portal and straightaway instigated a meeting. He was signed to ‘At  Night’ – Pounouri’s bespoke management agency – and everything fell into place.  With all the right forces now at work, a buzz began to surface and surely  enough, the masses began to fall in love – in April that same year, Avicii  emerged victorious from Pete Tong’s fiercely competitive ‘Fast Trax’  competition, and his first notable hit Manman was subsequently signed to Pete’s ‘Bedroom Bedlam’ imprint – a hefty  achievement for a mere teenager.   The partnership between himself and manager Ash has flourished  beyond all expectations – the unrelenting Avicii continues to masterfully hone  his unique brand of high-octane, melodic house music, while the successes flood  in. Amongst others, it was his critically acclaimed Muja EP and smash hit Ryu (which became Pete Tong’s “Essential New Tune” and Tiesto’s “Track Of The Week”)  that led Avicii to even greater accomplishment, as in 2009 he was crowned “Breakthrough  Producer/DJ of the Year” in DJ Magazine’s ‘Top 100’ special edition, and “The  Swedish Future” in ‘Only for DJs’ magazine (FR). These were exciting times for  the youngster, and consistently exquisite production outputs flowed thick and  fast, but it was the events of the following Summer that truly took him to the  next level as an artist, as the Swedish superstar sought a little bit of  bromance…   Released under his alias, and quasi-namesake ‘Tim Berg’, the  triumphant phenomenon that was Seek  Bromance saw the plucky Swede escalated to previously unbeknownst heights  and out-right superstardom, as the track became the international dance anthem for the summer. Reaching Number 1  Beatport status after just two days, it climbed to top ten in the official  national charts of ten countries across the globe – an achievement unheard-of  for even the biggest of dance music megastars. Just a month later, his smash  hit collaboration with Sebastian Drums My  Feelings For You, reached the coveted Number 1 spot once again, remaining  there for an astonishing 5 weeks. By the end of summer 2010, Tim Berg, Avicii,  Tim Bergling – whatever you may choose to call him – were the words on everybody’s  lips and demand soared!   If 2010 was the year of ‘the bromance’, then 2011 is the year that  the whole world fell in love with the monster that is Levels. With an astonishing 20 million YouTube hits racked up even before  its official release, (signed to Interscope/Atom Empire for the USA and  Universal Music for rest of the world) this record was the dance track that managed to galvanise and unify a truly  extra-ordinary number of people from all walks of life: black or white, male or  female, young or old; every man and his dog fell under Avicii’s spell and caught  the worldwide pandemic that was Levels. To the envy of his fellow DJs, a new generation and category of fans started to  emerge for the young Swede – more engaged and more obsessed than ever before. His  domination of the Hype Machine chart and the blogosphere became unrivalled as  fixated fans continually flock to support even the worst quality rips and cuts  of any new and exclusive material. In the short space of a year, the world  literally went Avicii mad.   Furiously juggling the worldwide release of Levels with yet more hard work in the studio, his insanely popular  podcast (Le7els), and a non-stop  international touring schedule; there’s no question that Avicii has cemented  himself as a simply unstoppable and dynamic force within the popular music  industry. Tearing up parties at the biggest and most prestigious superclubs across  the globe – including a breathtaking show at the recent ‘one night only’  re-opening of New York’s legendary Studio 54 – he is a performer in the true  sense of the term. Of course you’ll also find him setting the festi-sphere  alight, headlining colossal events such as Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, Dance  Valley, Street Parade and IDentity Festival, infecting hundreds of thousands of  EDM revelers with his uniquely captivating take on harmonious, pounding,  stadium-driven sounds – or “big room melodic house” as he likes to call it! With  the competence and confidence behind the decks to match his beautiful  production abilities, his shows are nothing short of stunning.     If  the first few years of unadulterated musical talent and unrivalled showmanship  are anything to go by, the rapidly growing hoards of Avicii enthusiasts are  going to be in for one hell of a ride. He was inspired by the likes of Daft Punk,  Steve Angello, Eric Prydz and Axwell, but the way things are going he might well  just overtake them all - the potential he has is second to none and  unprecedented. |