Avicii’s death is tragic in more ways than just one. In his time as a producer and DJ, Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, wrote and produced a staggering amount of records, many of which will now likely never see an official release. His collaboration with Chris Martin of Coldplay, “Heaven,” has already been making its rounds this past week. His unreleased single with Mike Posner, “Stay With You,” is also now rearing its head.
But how much unreleased music is there? Short answer: a lot.
The folks over at /r/avicii have compiled a list of all or most of the unreleased music that we know about, dating back to 2013 or perhaps even earlier. There’s too much for us to share all of it, so we’ve chosen a few of our favorites.
Generations w/ Tiësto
This has been an ID since 2010, but its veracity remains in question. Both Tiësto and Sebastian Ingrosso (first guessed to be a collaborator on the track) have said that it’s a fake, though Tiësto himself has played it out at least a couple times that have been caught on tape.
Either way, it’s a beautiful track and we’d sooner hope it’s real than believe it’s not. Listen here.
Heaven feat. Chris Martin
This is one we’ve already done a fair amount of talking about, but its inclusion on this list should be obvious. Chris Martin hasn’t lent his voice to many dance productions, nor features anywhere, for that matter. It should be noted that the demo for this song appeared before “Something Just Like This.”
Stay With You feat. Mike Posner
Mike Posner went through many of the same musical transformations that Bergling did. After experiencing massive success early on, he was faced with self doubt and intense writer’s block. Then, he released his 2016 album At Night, Alone. and completely reinvented his brand. With songs like “Be As You Are” and “Only God Knows,” Posner showed a deeper side of himself.
Looking back on Avicii’s music, it’s not hard to pain his songs as cries for help – it’s the same thing that happened when Chester Bennington killed himself. But it may be better to listen to his songs as windows of hope, rather than cries for help.
Listen to “Stay With You” here.
Black and Blue feat. Aloe Blacc & Mac Davis
According to /r/avicii, the producer had a second collaboration Aloe Blacc following “Wake Me Up” called “Black and Blue.” He was joined on the track by legendary country singer Mac Davis, whose voice you can hear in that gritty, chiseled harmony in the first verse.
The song is upbeat and pumped up, with a hefty dose of character to spare, thanks to Blacc’s and Davis’ polished voices. The drop, too, is purely classic Avicii.
Listen here.
No Pleasing A Woman feat. Billie Joe Armstrong
The list of vocalists who have worked with Avicii is seemingly endless, evidenced by this demo of “No Pleasing A Woman” with Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong. Billie Joe’s characteristic, whiny voice is immediately recognizable, even in the low quality recording.
This demo was allegedly an unreleased track from Stories. It’s unclear why it wasn’t included on the album.
Chained feat. Caitlyn Smith
Following the release of Avīci (01) in August 2017, Avicii live streamed a number of studio sessions. One of those sessions included a vocal recording of a song called “Chained” with Caitlyn Smith.
Smith is a currently rising star who just released her debut album Starfire in January. Her feature on an Avicii song would no doubt have pushed her career forward even further, while providing a unique and inspiration vocal performance to Avicii’s own music.
Listen here.
ID (Like Mike and London Summers collaboration?)
This is likely one of the last tracks that Avicii ever worked on, having posted this to his Instagram story in March 2018. He was joined in the studio by Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, though the Avicii subreddit also questions whether Like Mike and London Summers had any parts in the production, as well.
Watch here.
