Finding a Passion in Different Centuries: Avicii and Robert Frost

On March 26th, 1874, in San Francisco, California, an artist destined for greatness was born. This child would eventually grow into one of the most memorable and celebrated poets of all time. His name was Robert Frost. Halfway around the world and 115 years later, a boy with similar gifts and ideals came into this world. On September 8, 1989, in Stockholm, Sweden, Tim Bergling, better known by his stage name “Avicii,” was born. While Tim is best known for his pulsing electronic dance music that captivates entire arenas, Robert writes poetry with a flowing grace that carries readers into another dimension. Although their births are more than century apart, their inspiration and work coincide in the same realm. Both Tim and Robert derive inspiration from the nature around them. From a broad perspective, poetry and electronic dance music do not have any similar parts: they seem to be on opposite sides of the art spectrum. Where they do match is within the artists themselves. In this case, the inspiration of the artist is what brings both Avicii and Robert Frost together.

Growing up in Sweden, Tim Bergling had no shortage of inspiration. From the natural fjords, to the towering snow-capped mountains, the Scandinavian countries have long been known for their natural beauty. During his early years, Tim would spend his time fishing, hiking, and skiing, always immersing himself in nature. By the age of 18 Tim slipped away from these activities and began to spend more and more time in front his laptop producing remixes and original songs on the FL Studio application. In an interview with Maxumi, Tim Bergling discusses how he became acquainted with music production: Avicii broke into the popular electronic dance music scene in 2010, with his original song “Bromance,” which charted in multiple countries. In 2012, he became one of the world’s best DJs and record producers (ranked at #3 by DJMAG). During his rise to fame, the majority of his original songs featured stereotypical electronic sounds including saw-tooth synthesizers and electronic drum kits. In 2013, Avicii made his way back towards his acoustic and natural roots, when he released the song “Wake Me Up,” which features acoustic guitars and drum sets. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Avicii describes why switched from electronic dance music to a more acoustic music genre: Clearly, Avicii has a wholesome approach to music and not the commercialized world that surrounds it. This interview shows that the money and the fame is not what inspires Avicii, but rather the music itself that inspires him.

In 2016, these feelings pushed Avicii to retire from touring in order to find himself and to connect back with his outdoor roots. Since his final show, one can find Avicii exploring many parts of the world, with one trip specifically taking him into the heart of the Amazonian jungle to find inspiration for his newest album, “Avici.” On Avicii’s social media accounts there are countless pictures of nature reserves both in America and overseas. This dedication to the outdoors displays the inspiration that Avicii receives from nature and the natural world.

Crossing over to a whole new style of art, Robert Frost spent most of his early life in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His family was forced to uproot their lives in San Francisco and move across the country with his grandfather William Frost Sr. Growing up in Lawrence, Robert was exposed to much of the beauty of the north-eastern states. This is reflected directly in his poetry as the majority of his poetry revolves around nature. An excerpt from a 1966 LA Times article describes Frost’s early life: Robert’s competitive nature shown in this excerpt, pushed him to become the best poet he could be. This quest began as Robert started to write poetry during his high school career publishing multiple poems in his school’s newspaper, and eventually published his first poem professionally in 1894. One year later in 1895, Robert proposed to Elinor White, who he subsequently married. As a gift for their marriage, Robert’s grandfather bought them a farm in Derry, New Hampshire. It was there that Robert Frost would write many of the nature poems that he would one day become famous for.

Both Avicii and Robert Frost, have had lives immersed in nature. It is within these experiences that both Tim and Robert derive their inspiration. On one hand Robert Frost is very direct with this inspiration, writing a multitude of poems on the topic of nature. In an excerpt from the poem Birches, Robert Frost describes the image and motion of birches and creates a beautiful image of a snowy forest scene: In this excerpt, Frost’s time and experience in nature influences his ability to depict the elegant presence of birches and the forest-life around them. This is a pure example of how nature directly influenced the work of Robert Frost.

On the other hand, Avicii keeps his inspiration discrete within the songs that he writes and produces. Often times, the music itself has absolutely no relation to the natural world. For the most part, lyrics to Avicii’s revolve around the human heart and human experiences. Usually, you will see his inspiration within his album artwork. One example of this is the cover to “Avici” which depicts a gold tree surrounded in all directions by mountains. This beautiful album cover shows the relationship that Avicii has with nature within his heart, as he dedicates his newest album cover to nature itself. In addition, many of the videos for Tim Bergling’s songs depict nature scenes. Specifically, the lyric video for the song “Wake Me Up” depicts multiple picturesque scenes of mountains, fields, and rivers. From his album artwork and music videos, Avicii allows his audience to see his influence.

Even though at a glance it seems quite obvious that both Robert Frost and Avicii are influenced by nature, Robert Frost is also influenced by his depression and his life struggles. In an excerpt from World Literature Today, a description of Frost’s hardship is described: This excerpt shows the audience how Frost struggled with hardship after hardship. It was times like these that inspired Frost to escape to his poetry to write truly masterful pieces.

From Tupac, to Picasso, to Avicii, to Robert Frost, there is inspiration behind every artist’s art. In the case of Avicii and Robert Frost, there is an overlap in their inspiration: they are both inspired by nature. Whether Avicii is trekking through the jungles of Peru, or Robert Frost is spending time on his farm observing nature, artists will always find a way to inspire themselves. Looking into the lives of Avicii and Robert Frost, no one would guess that two extremely different individuals would have very similar inspirations.