A new documentary that honors the life of Avicii revealed that the late music producer was happier before his worldwide fame.
The DJ, born Tim Bergling, took his own life in 2018 at the age of 28 after years of struggling with mental health issues and substance addiction.
The two-hour-long documentary titled Avicii: I’m Tim, which premiered Sunday (June 9) at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, features an interview Tim gave late in his career, as well as appearances from many of his collaborators.
The Swedish talent achieved global success in 2011 when he released Levels. Two years later, he put out Wake Me Up, his mega-hit from his debut album, True.
A new documentary titled Avicii: I’m Tim honors the life of the late music producer, born Tim Bergling
Image credits: Tim Bergling Fans
At the height of his career, the electronic dance music (EDM) star reportedly performed 800 shows over a span of six years, sometimes playing in two different cities a day.
The relentless touring took a toll on the musician, who admitted that his quality of life decreased significantly after fame.
“I was a lot happier before I was famous than after I was famous. I started feeling very unhappy,” Tim said in the documentary, as per the Daily Mail.
“I was on autopilot mode. I started really f***ing wondering why I was feeling like this. I had been acting a way because this is how you’re supposed to be acting.
He continued: “I think I didn’t give myself enough time to figure out if there was something I wanted to change.”
The famed producer said he suffered from anxiety and was “killing” himself with his incredibly busy schedule.
Tim took his own life in 2018 after years of struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse
His interest in music began after meeting Filip Akesson, the DJ known as Philgood, with whom he collaborated as a teen. Soon after, he started uploading his songs to house music blogs and was contacted by Swedish promoter Arash Pournouri, who would become his manager.
The Stockholm-born star began working as a DJ within a year of meeting Pournouri.
“I went from being young, from school to touring,” the Grammy nominee described in the film.
In an interview featured in the two-hour-long film, Avicii revealed that he was “a lot happier” before he became famous
In January 2012, Avicii was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis, a condition caused by excessive drinking. He was prescribed opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin, to which he developed an addiction.
In February 2013, he was hospitalized once more after his pancreas became inflamed for a second time. In the film, the music producer admits that he knew his decision not to rest and recover from pancreatitis would “bite [him] in the a**.”
“I was on autopilot mode. I started really f***ing wondering why I was feeling like this,” said the EDM star, who performed 800 shows over a six-year period
Jesse Waits, the managing partner of Las Vegas nightclub XS, who was like an older brother to Avicii, recalled one instance when he noted that the record producer “was not there” while they were having dinner.
“I realized he was taking painkillers. I grew up with a family that did drugs, and I saw that when people do opiates, their eyes change. The pin, the little black parts of their eyes,” Jesse said in the film.
“His eyes were wide open like a zombie. He was not there. At the dinner, his demeanor changed, and his eyes dilated.”
In 2016, Avicii announced that he would retire from the road.
“I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist,” he wrote at the time.
In the days after his death, it became known that he had been dating the Czech-American model Tereza Kačerová, who passed away in April 2024 following a pulmonary embolism at the age of 34.
In a statement shared following the tragic moment, Tim’s family wrote: “When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to feel good and be able to do what he loved the most—music.
“Tim was not made for the machinery he ended up in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight.
“Tim, you will forever be loved and missed. Who you were and your music will carry on the memory of you.”
Avicii fans lamented the talented producer’s tragic passing
