The crowd was understandably confused during weekend two of Ultra 2013, when Avicii (aka Tim Berling) first debuted a handful of tracks from his now-released “True” LP. Undoubtedly, the large majority of those in attendance were craving the house-hedonism of Avicii staples like “Collide” and “Levels”. So when the soulful longing of Aloe Blacc and banjo strumming of “Wake Me Up” shot across the loudspeakers, revelry was expectedly deflated. However, when combing through the 24-year-old’s already dense catalog, there are sonic breadcrumbs that guide listeners to this new aesthetic.
2011′s “Fade Into Darkness” was a early glimpse into the delicate textures and house-acoustic interplay that now dominates “True”. And as his 2012 work alongside Madonna (“Girl Gone Wild”) and Lenny Kravitz (“Superlove”) attests, Avicii has been eyeballing crossover success. To the credit of Avicii, he has collaborated with much less renowned, but likely more talented, artists to complete his debut artist album.
For instance, Avicii could have searched through his star-studded Rolodex to find an American indie-pop vocalist for the charming vocals on “You Make Me”, but he decided to call upon fellow Swede Salem Al Fakir for vocals, and Vincent Pontare for songwriting. A slight career shift, and move further into the spotlight for Pontare, who is more famous for writer credits on “Save the World” (Swedish House Mafia), “Kick Out The Epic Motherf**cker” (Dada Life), “Hungry Hearts” (Nause) and “Reload” (Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash). And the Adele-leaning “Addicted To You” was developed from one of the most peculiar collaborations in recent memory, featuring Audra Mae of Oklahoma on vocalsm plus contributions from aging country star, Mac Davis, and Josh Krajcik from “X-Factor” fame. Looking at the credits, the four should have never met, yet they have created what could be one of the biggest cuts of fall 2013.
Even when the album does feature bigger names, the output is a new adventure for Avicii and collaborator alike. Like Krajcik, Adam Lambert was pulled from TV fame. Don’t let that fact bother you, as “Lay Me Down” is a sexy R&B-influenced thumper that fits nicely within both clubland and more upbeat drive-time radio. And apparently being the year of Nile Rodgers, we see the famed disco/soul singer-songwriter adds his signature funk to both “Lay Me Down” and “Shame On Me”. Neither have the peak-time energy of Avicii’s former standout tracks, but the groove is so infectious one cannot help but do a short jig while attempting to sing-along.
For those weary of Avicii’s departure from dancefloor hysteria, don’t be! “You Make Me”, “Canyons”, and “All You Need Is Love” will all fit nicely within euphoric, high-energy appearances.
After gaining so much fame for “Levels”, Avicii should be credited for breaking stride, and testing his own production and songwriting abilities. The industry is reminded time and time again from Beatport chart-toppers that creativity and imagination are not needed to move singles, just a fair dose of imitation. So, while this house-country convergence isn’t something totally new (check out Morgan Page’s “The Longest Road” or the Rednex remix of “Cotton Eye Joe” that still plays far too often at sporting events), Avicii’s ability to seamlessly fuse together drastically divergent styles and audiences keeps him artistic leagues ahead most of his contemporaries. These tracks aren’t 100% for the dancefloor, but then again, if they were, Berling wouldn’t be “true” to his own artistic calling.
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