Avicii ‘Wake Me Up’ animation shared by Google to celebrate late DJ’s birthday

An Avicii ‘Wake Me Up’ animation has been shared by Google to celebrate what would have been the late-DJ’s 32nd birthday, on 8th September.

The Google Doodle charts the artist, real name Tim Bergling, progressing from a young boy strumming a guitar to laptop producer, teenage DJ playing small parties, to performing for thousands of people after reaching the height of EDM fame. 

Running for one minute, the animation uses an array of colours and overlay techniques to tell the story. Created by Alyssa Winans, Olivia When, and Sophie Diao, the work also marks National Suicide Prevention Week in the US, which runs from Sunday 5th – Saturday 11th September 2021. 

“The truth is Tim struggled a great deal during the touring part of his adulthood, and I wanted to find a way to both touch on the realities of that experience, while still celebrating and honouring his life in a way that fit the lyrics and tone of the track,” Winans told Consequence Of Sound. “I ultimately decided to spend the majority of the video on the aspects of his life he loved, with a few symbolic moments to allude to some of the more emotionally challenging experiences.”

Avicii’s father and founder of the Tim Bergling Foundation, Klas Bergling, added: “The Doodle is fantastic, my family and I feel honoured and Tim would have been very proud and love it. It is a friendly and warm story of a young man fulfilling his dream to be a DJ and at the same time telling us that our journey in life is not always easy despite fame and fortune.”

Earlier this year it was announced that the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm would be renamed Avicii Arena in honour of the artist. The Swedish capital is also constructing a memorial site in another tribute to the star, who died in 2018.