Avicii/Tim Bergling: A true account on EDM, Mental health and Stress
Book review — Tim by Måns Mosesson
Finally, I have been able to finish the book which I waited for more than a year. Well, if you read my bio, then you know why. Because like every other EDM fan, I am OBSESSED by Avicii aka Tim Bergling.
Let me paint you a scenario. It was one of the worst years of my life, back then in 2015, when I almost got fired, had no friends and was nearly depressed. I opened youtube and was kind of exploring EDM genre to listen on. Those were the days when all these AI algorithms were not so strong and youtube recommendations were actually good. I stumble upon ‘Wake me up’ by Avicii and sung by Aloe Blacc and instantly fell in love. And today, I still listen to it almost every two days.
Cut to 2021, A new ritual is born — watching Avicii Tribute Concert and we still do that every new year. The same year, it was announced that Tim Bergling’s biography is releasing. And now, here I am, writing about my experience of reading Tim’s biography, the artist who made me fall in love with EDM, his music and just him as a person.
A disclaimer: This is the only book which made me cry by the end of it.
This book takes us on a journey of Avicii — the EDM prodigy starting with little Tim to a 28 year old young man and an artist at the peak of his career lying in one of the lavish resorts in Oman with a broken wine bottle.
Themes explored:
BIOGRAPHY
Måns wrote a detailed experience of each person knowing Tim in a chronological way. He mentioned about the moment when Tim created his first beat while struggling through FL Studio, a software to create synths, his first group of friends, his school life and when he struggled in the clubs of Stockholm. Moreover, he also explains the first signs of body image issues Avicii had. Apart from the firsts, he goes deep into his relationships such as his parents, girlfriends, his manager Arash Pornourri, professional contacts and many more people who knew him very well. The book also includes the childhood photographs, backstage moments and in between shots from the concerts he did.
EDM
This book is a must read for those who love EDM, are familiar with the artists and know all about the culture. It takes us into the depth of an EDM artist’s life, the people he meet, the producers he work with and simply amazing musicians who create magic. More importantly, it is the journey of Tim as an artist who started from playing into clubs to playing into music festivals such as Ultra Miami and travelling the world. If you love to know detailed accounts of his work, you should definitely pick this book up.
MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG ADDICTION
Now, this one is my most favourite reason to pick this book up. Right now, in today’s day and age, mental health is something most talked about but still a stigma encircles it. Also, we never know when a person is struggling with his/her mental health. This book gives clear account of Tim’s first experience of anxiety, first time he feels stressed in front of crowd, and as you read it more, you realise the key moments or signs where he should have understood his instincts and have looked for professional help. Also, it is a great insight on how seriously we should think about mental health, stress and means to cope with them such as therapy, interventions and clear communications and not rely on drugs, medications, anti-deprassants.
This book answered many of my questions about Avicii’s life — why he killed himself even though he had all the money, love and life in the world, why he gave up his touring career and live shows, even though being a swede how he managed to be so ambitious and focused on money and career and not balance or relationships or the very commonly known concept around Sweden ‘Lagom‘.
WORK LIFE BALANCE
This one is something which I learnt while living in Sweden and perhaps would not have cared for it in any other place in the world. Work-Life balance in Sweden is the most important factor considered in workplaces. The idea is to consider work as part of your life and not the life itself. Apart from work, family, relationships, festivals, vacations, all these things have equal weightage in life and to maintain a healthy balance, all of these things should be experienced in an organised way. And, this book clearly showcases the times when Tim was overworked, what it did to him in all possible ways — financial, personal, professional, emotional and mental. It also highlights the importance of the times he took vacations, searched purpose of his life, took a break and spent time with his loved ones.
My Recommendations:
- If you like biographies and EDM, you should DEFINITELY pick this book up as it will be a good read.
- Must check out this: Wake Me Up on Youtube. Find out why this song has over 2 billion views.
- It can be a slow read if you don’t know much about EDM, how it exploded over the world and Why Hardwell, Swedish House Mafia and other european DJ’s ruled over the millenial era.
