Avicii Said He Hoped He Could 'Learn How to Be Content' in Poignant Documentary Voiceover Before His Death
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/avicii-im-tim-trailer-121824-1-5d428a0b146c4d39b83c0b779ebaf2d1.jpg)
01/03/2025 01:35 PM
The Swedish DJ died by suicide in 2018 at age 28
Courtesy of Netflix
Tim Bergling aka Avicii in Avicii — I'm TimAvicii was at the height of his career when he all but walked away from music, pulling the plug on upcoming concert dates in order to focus on his health.
By 2017, though, the Swedish DJ seemed to have reignited his passion for songwriting — and was doing his best to look inward with the hopes of discovering the key to happiness.
In the new Netflix documentaryAvicii — I'm Tim, the "Levels" producer (né Tim Bergling) serves as narrator, with the film strung together using voiceovers he recorded before his death by suicide in 2018 at age 28.
In one particularly poignant scene, Bergling discusses the ways in which he tried to get to the root of his unhappiness, saying he saw psychiatrists and doctors, switched up his diet and started working out in an effort to heal. What he realized, though, was that he felt weighed down by the idea of having to be both Avicii and Tim Bergling.
"My dream would be to be completely, completely at ease and completely happy with what I've got already, and not really have any aspirations to do a billion other things," he says in the documentary. "F---, I just want to be free from all the ideas of a life. Those are the things that kept me from living life, has been that exact thing: just having an idea of what life should be and what should make me happy."
He continues, "You know, making a bigger song will make me more happy, or this, this and this. Nothing has turned out to be true. But I want to learn how to be content. That would be life for me. Being content."
In the film, Bergling says he began to see change in his life when he gave himself "room to explore." As a result, says he felt a new sense of freedom that allowed him to finally begin making music for himself.
Related: The Death of Avicii, 6 Years Later: What Happened to the DJ and How He's Remembered Today
A friend of the star's named Carl Falk says in the doc that Bergling "had lots of dream," including "dreams of love, dreams of having a family," and that he was impressed by the "new depth" Bergling brought to lyrics on songs that would ultimately feature on his posthumous 2019 album Tim.
Still, Falk acknowledges there "was a darkness" to his friend in the months leading up to his death, as he'd often cancel music sessions to meditate or for other reasons unknown.
Interviews in the documentary with colleagues and collaborators indicate that Bergling was looking toward the future when he traveled to Muscat, Oman for vacation in April 2018.
Singer Joe Janiak says the musician told him he'd be calling "every week" while he was traveling, while an executive at his record label says Bergling was excited about an upcoming session with singer Angelique Kidjo that he scheduled while away.
Bergling ultimately died by suicide while in Muscat. Following his death, the star's family created the Tim Bergling Foundation, which "advocates for the recognition of suicide as a global health crisis and actively works to remove the stigma attached to suicide and mental health issues."
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
