Posthumous Avicii Album Due in June
A posthumous album from artist/producer Avicii is coming in June, his family and producers announced in a New York Times feature today. The album, titled “Tim” — after the legal name of the singer, Tim Bergling, who died of an apparent suicide last year — is due out in June, and its first track, “S.O.S.,” arrives on April 10.
Avicii left behind a wealth of unreleased material and was working on an album at the time of his death, the article says. The songs were “75 to 80%” finished, according to producer Albin Nedler, who is among several longtime Avicii collaborators finishing the album. Coldplay singer Chris Martin appears on one of the tracks.
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Late last month, his family announced the establishment of the Tim Bergling Foundation, which “will initially focus on supporting people and organizations working in the field of mental illness and suicide prevention,” the brief announcement reads, noting that it will also be active in climate change, development assistance, nature conservation and endangered species. Proceeds from the album will go to the foundation.
“Tim wanted to make a difference,” the statement concludes. “Starting a foundation in his name is our way to honor his memory and continue to act in his spirit.”
One of the most popular and successful electronic dance-music artists of all time — he scored a No. 4 hit on the Billboard 200 in 2013 with “Wake Me Up” and regularly appeared in the Top 5 of Forbes’ “Highest-Paid DJs” lists — Bergling retired from live performing in 2016 at the peak of his success, citing health reasons. He had suffered from health problems for several years, including acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking; he had his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014. While he said he’d quit drinking after the surgery, some friends, including musical collaborator Nile Rodgers, said they’d seen him intoxicated afterward, and criticizing himself for it.
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