Avicii collabator criticises posthumous release: “I don’t want to release those songs without Tim being here”
He shared his view that Avicii's family and label should "think twice about what the most respectful way to treat Tim’s memory is cuz I don’t think this is it"
Avicii collaborator Sandro Cavazza has criticised the recent posthumous single release of ‘Forever Yours - Tim’s 2016 Ibiza Version’, which features Cavazza on vocals.
The track was performed at Avicii’s last-ever show in Ibiza and was released via Interscope Records and Pophouse, with permission from the Avicii Estate.
However, since its release Cavazza has released a statement criticising the release as a single and questioning its respectability.
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“Just so you all know. I have not agreed on [releasing] this as a single. I have only agreed on releasing Tim’s demo version of Forever Yours as a part of a full live album release from Tim’s last show, but since that album wasn’t released today and this is now being portrayed as a single, featuring me, I feel like I need to speak up,” wrote Swedish singer-songwriter Sandro Cavazza on Instagram.
He added that he has repeatedly turned down requests to put out unreleased collaborative material with Avicii from his label and family, because he believes only Avicii could decide when tracks were ready for release.
“I have for years now been asked by the family and Pinguettes recordings to release the unreleased material I have done together with Tim and I have consistently said no. A lot of you probably wonder why those songs never have come out and the truth is that I don’t want to release any of those songs without Tim being here. He is the only one who knew when his songs were finished and I do and will continue to respect that,” says Cavazza.
He added: “I therefore wish that Pinguettes recordings, Per Sundin [Pophouse CEO] and Tim’s family will respect that decision as well and that they think twice about what the most respectful way to treat Tim’s memory is cuz I don’t think this is it.”
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Avicii died by suicide aged 28, and had spoken about the struggles with mental health, anxiety and alcoholism the success of his music career had brought upon him.
Moral uncertainty around the release of new music from the late producer has long been debated. After his death, rumours circulated that a bank of unreleased songs could make it onto a posthumous LP.
Both Carl Falk and Nicky Romero revealed that they were each in possession of unreleased music from Avicii, with Romero stating: "I don’t know if it morally feels right to me to work on songs that the original composer has not approved."
In 2020, Sandro Cavazza teamed up with Kygo to release ‘Forever Yours (Avicii Tribute)’, with the net proceeds donated to the Tim Bergling Foundation, a nonprofit which provides support for mental health issues, suicide prevention and education, among other issues.
