Avīci (01) Explained

Italic Title:no
Avīci (01)
Type:ep
Artist:Avicii
Cover:AVĪCI (01).jpg
Genre:Progressive housedance-popfolktronica
Prev Title:Stories
Prev Year:2015
Next Title:Tim
Next Year:2019

Avīci (01) is the fourth and final extended play by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii, serving as the last release in his lifetime. It was produced by Avicii, Benny Blanco, Andrew Watt, Cashmere Cat and Carl Falk, and released through Avicii Music on 10 August 2017.[1] The specific spelling of the EP is the name of a hell realm in both Hinduism and Buddhism (Avīci), but this may be a coincidence.

Background

On 27 June 2017, Rita Ora debuted a semi-acoustic version of "Lonely Together" at a private event at Annabel's in London.[2] Avicii then shared one-minute snippets on Instagram, captioned "New music coming very very (very) soon!", with track titles as hashtags,[3] [4] followed by teasers of each track from the EP upon release.[5] [6] [7] He said of the release: "I'm really excited to be back with music once again. It has been a long time since I released anything and a long time since I was this excited over new music! My focus on this first EP of the album was to get a mix of new and old songs: some that fans have been asking about and waiting for mixed with brand new songs that they have never been heard before!"[8]

In an interview with Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, Avicii stated: "It's the first EP of 3, so the whole album will be released with the third EP."[9] However, after Avicii's death in 2018, the EPs were cancelled and replaced with the posthumous release of Tim in 2019. As of November 2023, (01) remains the only EP in the series released.

Critical reception

Ryan Milk of Dancing Astronaut labelled the EP as a "refreshed and reenergized take on [Avicii's] happy, upbeat progressive style".[10] Brian Bonavoglia from DJ Times wrote that Avīci (01) featured Avicii returning to his roots with tracks that contain his "signature production style built around infectious melodies" which "create the uplifting energy that helped propel him into stardom".[11] Renowned For Sounds Haydon Benfield felt that although the tracks were "tightly focused and highly polished" in their production, they lacked elements which were worthy of praise. The critic concluded by describing Avicii's style as "interminable, incessant, and uninterrupted."

Track listing

Notes[12]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017–18)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 14
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[14] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2017)Position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[15] 54
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 2
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[17] 20
Chart (2018)Position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18] 53
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[19] 79
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 2
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[21] 20

Notes and References

  1. News: Mike. Wass. 8 August 2017. Rita Ora & AlunaGeorge Feature On Avicii's Comeback EP. Idolator. 9 August 2017.
  2. News: Mike. Wass. 28 June 2017. Rita Ora Debuts New Song "Lonely Together" At A Private Event. Idolator. 9 August 2017. 12 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230412010020/https://www.idolator.com/7665580/rita-ora-lonely-together-new-song. dead.
  3. David. Rishty. 3 August 2017. Avicii Reveals New 'Avīci' EP & Release Date, Teases More Music. Billboard. 9 August 2017.
  4. News: Rob. McCallum. 3 August 2017. Avicii teases more new music ahead of forthcoming release. DJ Mag. 9 August 2017.
  5. David. Rishty. 7 August 2017. Avicii Shares 'Avīci' EP Track List, Feat. Rita Ora, AlunaGeorge & More. Billboard. 9 August 2017.
  6. News: Derek. Staples. 9 August 2017. Avicii shares 'Avīci' EP tracklist, feat. Rita Ora, AlunaGeorge, more. DJ Mag. 9 August 2017.
  7. News: Erik. 7 August 2017. Avicii Returns To His Roots In Teaser For New Collaboration With Billy Raffoul. EDM Sauce. 9 August 2017.
  8. Web site: AVICII Returns With Six Track EP, AVĪCI OUT NOW - Umusic. 11 August 2017. 11 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170811144807/http://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/avicii-returns-six-track-ep-avici-now/. dead.
  9. Avicii. Pete Tong. Paul Oakenfold and DJ Alfredo recorded in Ibiza. BBC Radio 1. August 11, 2017. August 11, 2017.
  10. Web site: MUST LISTEN: Avicii is back with the refreshing 'AVĪCI' . Castillo . Ryan . 2017-08-10 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20171015231939/https://dancingastronaut.com/2017/08/avicii-back-progressive-6-track-ep/ . 2017-10-15 . live . 2018-04-19.
  11. Web site: Avicii Makes Triumphant Return With Stellar "AVĪCI" EP . Bonavoglia . Brian . 2017-08-10 . DJ Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20171014153555/http://djtimes.com/avicii-makes-triumphant-return-stellar-avici-ep/ . 2017-10-14 . live . 2018-04-19.
  12. Web site: AVĪCI - Avicii. Qobuz.
  13. Web site: ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums. Australian Recording Industry Association. 21 August 2017. 19 August 2017.
  14. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums. ja. Billboard Japan. October 31, 2017.
  15. Web site: Album Top-100 2017. Hitlisten. 11 January 2018.
  16. Web site: Årslista Album – År 2017. Sverigetopplistan. sv. 16 January 2018.
  17. Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2017. Billboard. 31 May 2020.
  18. Web site: Album Top-100 2018. Hitlisten. da. 16 January 2019.
  19. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2018. Plötutíóindi. is. January 3, 2022.
  20. Web site: Årslista Album – År 2018. Sverigetopplistan. sv. 15 January 2019.
  21. Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. 31 May 2020.
  22. Web site: Årslista Album, 2019. Sverigetopplistan. 14 January 2020.
  23. Web site: Årslista Album, 2020. Sverigetopplistan. 20 January 2021.
  24. Web site: Årslista Album, 2021. Sverigetopplistan. 14 January 2022.