1:31:00 PM
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Featuring AlunaGeorge, Rita Ora, Billy Raffoul, Sandro Cavazza and Vargas & Lagola
10 August 2017 (Toronto, ON) – After eight years of music-making and touring around the world, Avicii,
aka Tim Bergling, announced that he was stepping down from the stage
and walking away from the industry. Shortly after Bergling embarked on a
journey across the United States with his closest friends and creators.
This transformational journey led him back to the joy of doing what had
always meant the most to him – composing music. Today Avicii, returns
with AVĪCI, his highly-anticipated EP
via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading company. ‘The EP
features collaborations with Rita Ora, AlunaGeorge, Billy Raffoul,
Vargas & Lagola and Sandro Cavazza, continuing Avicii’s practice of
working with powerful vocalists who can deliver on the uplifting energy
and infectious melodies of his music. AVĪCI is the first new music to be released since 2015. Avicii exclaims, “I’m really excited to be back with music once again. It has been a long time since I released anything and a long time since I was this excited over new music! My focus on this first EP of the album was to get a mix of new and old songs: some that fans have been asking about and waiting for mixed with brand new songs that they have never been heard before!”
The opening track, “Friend of Mine”, blurs lines between folk roots and a burning synth hook. It’s a tale of friendship lost and longed for sung with playfulness by fellow Stockholm natives Vargas & Lagola who have previously collaborated with acts such as Miike Snow, Madonna, Axwell /\ Ingrosso, Katy Perry and more.
Hitmaker Rita Ora features on the pop anthem “Lonely Together”, a classic four-on-the-floor that bridges the gaps between pop and dance. AlunaGeorge, the English electronic music duo from London, appear on “What Would I Change It To”, a soft reflection of one who is finally convinced that the “right now” is right after all. Canadian-born, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Billy Raffoul’s character driven vocals power “You Be Love”, which was recorded in Nashville; It’s pure Avicii brightness with the clean, catchy style and uplifting energy.
In 2011, Avicii reached critical mass with the global success of “Le7els” which became a No. 1 dance hit in the U.S. and the U.K. “Le7els” topped the charts in six other territories, has been streamed over 200 million times on Spotify, and garnered Bergling a Grammy nomination. In 2013, the Swedish songwriter and producer cemented his place in the firmament of superstar recording artists/DJs with the success of his genre-defying debut album, True. True spawned the 4x-platinum guitar-laden stomper “Wake Me Up,” which hit No. 1 in 81 countries and became the most streamed song of all time on Spotify and the No. 1 most Shazamed song worldwide and racked up 1.6 billion combined YouTube views. Later in the year, Avicii won his first American Music Award, an MTV Europe Music Award, and a World Music Award. “Wake Me Up” won a Billboard Music Award and an iHeartRadio Music Award.
In 2014, Bergling released Stories which achieved more than 750 million streams on Spotify and spawned the international hit “Waiting for Love,” which was #1 in 22 countries. Today, Avicii has a combined total of 11 billion streams. In March 2016, after a performance at Ultra Music Festival, Bergling announced in a letter to fans that that he would be retiring from performing live. But the silver lining from his announcement was a renewed conviction, inspired energy, and the time that allowed him to get back to what Avicii does best – create music.
- Avicii ft. Vargas & Lagola ‘Friend of Mine’
- Avicii ft. Rita Ora ‘Lonely Together’
- Avicii ft. Billy Raffoul ‘You Be Love’
- Avicii ft. Sandro Cavazza ‘Without You’
- Avicii ft. AlunaGeorge ‘What Would I Change It To’
