Avicii’s music ‘will live forever’: Tributes paid to the Swedish DJ

AviciiImage copyright
Reuters

Artists have been paying tribute to Avicii, who has died suddenly in Oman.

It’s not yet known how the Swedish DJ died, but two years ago he announced his retirement after suffering from health problems.

Rita Ora, who he recently collaborated with on the track Lonely Together, tweeted that she had “no words” after hearing the news.

Diplo posted that Avicii’s music will “live forever”, writing that he “set the precedent” for other producers.

Media captionThe DJ will be remembered for club hits like Levels, Wake Me Up and Hey Brother

Radio 1 presenter Annie Mac began her Friday evening show paying tribute to Avicii, saying it’s a “massive loss for dance music” and that it was “absolutely devastating news”.

It’s known that the 28-year-old has been suffering from pancreatitis, reportedly caused by heavy drinking.

He once said in an interview: “Drinking became routine for me, but it’s impossible to keep up touring and drinking at the same time, because you are going to crash.”

The electronic dance music (EDM) star reportedly made $250,000 (£180,000) a night on tour.

Image copyright
Muscat Hills Resort

Image caption

One of the last pictures of Avicii (centre), at a tourist resort near Muscat

It was after Avicii’s, real name Tim Bergling, 2011 hit Levels that he achieved worldwide acclaim.

During his career he notched up 11 billion streams on Spotify and was the first EDM DJ to stage a worldwide arena tour, as nominated for two Grammy Awards and had nine UK top 10 singles, including two number ones.

American musician Skrillex remixed that song and posted online that he was “a genius and an innovator, yet sensitive and humble”.

Other artists posting messages online include Martin Garrix, Liam Payne, Madonna, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Deadmau5.

In 2016 Avicii announced he was retiring from touring, after health complications, but it’s thought it’s something he didn’t really enjoy.

Nicky Romero, who collaborated with Avicii on I Could Be The One, said: “He was more of the musician in the studio than the guy that wants to be on stage, tour the world.

“I never really thought that he was super enjoying his DJ sets. It felt like he wanted to do it but he didn’t want to feel the pressure of it or be the guy that’s in the spotlight in front of thousands and thousands of people.”

Radio 1 presenter Danny Howard said it was a “great loss to music”.

Pete Tong said he was “a major influence in opening up mainstream USA to electronic dance music”.

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Avicii’s music ‘will live forever’: Tributes paid to the Swedish DJ