On May 19th it was announced that the famous landmark, the Globe, at the heart of the Swedish capital Stockholm, is to be renamed Avicii Arena. The building is thereby to become a symbol for mental illness prevention, and “a hub for sharing ideas and hosting activities with the focus on young people’s health”. After the tragic death of their son on April 20, 2018, Tim “Avicii” Bergling’s father Klas Bergling, and his wife Anki Lidén started the Tim Bergling foundation dedicated to promoting mental health amongst young people. The work of the foundation includes the project “For a better day” which collects young people’s voices, thoughts and needs and shares them as a way to keep up Avicii’s spirit and the memory of the world-renowned artist alive.
One of the last music videos released by Avicii was for the song You Be Love ft. Billy Raffoul came out in December of 2017. The music video tells a powerful story of a same-sex couple trying to break the chains of society’s view on love. As love has no bounds, they break free from judgment. The video is portrayed by statues of two women seamlessly trying to reach each other, while the statues portraying society are trying to pull them apart. They finally come together and hold each other as they float away, escaping the judgment around them. One of the people involved in making this video was Felix Thedeby, a Swedish VFX artist and compositor currently living and working in LA. “I feel both sad and proud to have been a part of creating such a powerful music video for such an iconic artist. It’s by far one of my favorite projects, not only because of the beautiful visuals we managed to create, but also because of what it stands for. We used a technique called photogrammetry, where real people get photographed by several cameras all at once and then turned into 3d models which we used to create the statues. ” says Thedeby when I check in on him over Zoom. “I am glad to know that his legacy lives on, not only through his songs but also through the foundation. Mental health is an important issue to talk about and I am happy to see that the Globe will now be a reminder of not only Avicii as an artist, but also what it represents in the struggle against mental health issues”.
Avicii is perhaps the most played but is certainly not the only Swedish artist to appear on billboard charts throughout the last decades. The term “The Swedish music wonder” has been used to describe the success of musical artists. Since ABBA’s breakout in the ’70s, Sweden has produced a steady stream of hitmakers – from Roxette and Ace of Base in the ’80s and ’90s to Robyn, Icona Pop and Tove Lo with fresh scores and girl power lyrics hits in recent years. The music industry plays an important role in establishing Sweden as a country with a creative force. The economic contribution of music export is an important part of Sweden’s economy. For those reasons, the Swedish government has been awarding the Music Export Prize to artists since 1997, which has contributed to promoting a positive image of Sweden over the years. Avicii accepted the prize in 2013. The award has since been given to Max Martin, Tove Lo, and Ludwig Göransson, and most recently to the Grammy Award-winning rock band Ghost.
It is easy to notice certain similarities between Swedish music producers and compositors, based on their looks. With his long hair and beard, Thedeby looks like a younger version of Max Martin, which leads you to wonder if the musical talent comes from the hair. “Ha ha,” said Thedeby whilst tossing his blond, almost waist-long hair, ”I don’t think so, but I am not cutting it off anytime soon.” Thedeby has lived and worked in LA for the past four years as a visual effects artist and has worked on music videos for several large artists. He has done not one, but two videos with Lil Nas X. “These videos were a lot of fun to make because of the directors’ different visions for what they should be. Lil Nas X’s music video for the song Panini is a project I’m truly proud of. It was such a stylized project, where we had to utilize a lot of different visual effects techniques. Not only was it heavy CGI and a lot of compositing, but on set we used dancers with motion capture suits to record the movements for the dancing robots, a practical set, and a lot of wirework to make the flying sequence look as real as possible. All and all it was just a super fun project and the end result speaks for itself.”
The talent of the Swedish music industry is not limited to just musicians. Producers such as Max Martin have helped bring some of the most iconic pop songs ever to life, such as Britany Spears Baby One More Time, Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way, Katy Perry’s I Kissed a Girl, and Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. Many songs are only as iconic as their music videos, and Swedes can be thanked for bringing some of the most memorable ones to life. Jonas Åkerlund, who has made several music videos for superstars like Madonna, Beyoncé to mention a few, and Johan Renck of Chernobyl fame are three of the most well-known names. Thedeby has worked on three music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund. “It’s always a blast to be a part of his productions. No two projects are alike and it keeps you on your toes and gives you the opportunity to come with a lot of creative solutions” he says.
So how come Swedes are so successful in the music industry? “It’s hard to say really”, Thedeby replies. “I think a lot of Swedes are just very creative and passionate about a lot of different art forms. We are eager to create and have an eye for beautiful things. Perhaps it’s because we are so influenced by all kinds of cultures, and we are encouraged from an early age to think for ourselves and try out new things.” According to an article on the official Swedish website there are at least eight reasons why Sweden “rocks the global music scene”. The top reason mentioned is the municipal music schools. These schools are not mandatory but were very popular in the ’70s and ’80s and are still today a breeding ground for young Swedish musicians. Thedeby himself is a prodigy of the local municipal music school in Nässjö, where he played the drums for a few years. He also tried out several other instruments such as the accordion and piano, neither of which he had much of a talent for.
Another thing mentioned in the article as a reason for the Swedish musical success is theology. New technology puts the artists in control of how the music is shared and enjoyed by others. The audio platform Sound Cloud, where artists can record, upload and share music with fans, is mentioned as an important contributor to the success of Swedish female artist Lykke Li. Avicii also used digital technology to connect with new and exciting talents from all over the world and record hits at a rapid speed. The Swedish-based music streaming company Spotify, which today has more than 150 million subscribers, gained traction by word of mouth as it first was released in 2008. Today Spotify is one of the largest music streaming platforms in the world and is known, not only for the service it provides but also for its company structure and way of working. Is there a link between Swedish working culture and the success of music production perhaps? “Swedes are in general very hard-working people, no matter the industry. But I think we are also good at working in a smart way. Creativity comes from seeking new perspectives and from collaborating. Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard, and great ideas do not only come from people in management positions.” Is there such a thing as a Swedish aesthetic then, or is an inspiration just drawn from others? “I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a Swedish aesthetic I apply to my projects, but I can imagine that some of my thinking around what I create surely stems from my background. However, when working on projects it’s a collaborative effort and the director’s vision is the most important part. If you get the opportunity to add some of your own creative ideas in there, that’s just the cherry on top.”
It is clear that the Swedish music wonder is still very much alive. Swedes still have a profound impact on the music industry and are just as present behind the microphone as in front of it. With a recipe including free musical education, great working culture, and access to the latest and greatest technology, it seems difficult not to produce a sweet-tasting result. In any regard, it is worth remembering that for each awe-inspiring music video, there are VFX artists like Thedeby who with passion and skill behind the computer screen bring the vision of the director to life, whether it’s statues fighting for equality, Lil Nas X flying through the sky or CGI robots dancing.
