Sandro Cavazza Says He Never Consented to His and Avicii’s Collaboration Getting Released

“Forever Yours – Tim’s 2016 Ibiza Version” came out last week. Sandro Cavazza, who worked with Avicii on the record, says this goes against his wishes.

Sandro Cavazza, a Swedish vocalist who worked with the late Avicii on singles dating back to 2015, has claimed that one of their collaborations was released without his approval last week.

The song in question is “Forever Yours – Tim’s 2016 Ibiza Version,” which saw on official release on Friday, February 14. Previously, Avicii (real name Tim Bergling) had played it in his final August 2016 show, so its demo version appeared in a full live album release as well as in the December Netflix documentary I’m Tim.

In the caption of a solid white rectangle posted on Instagram, Cavazza said that the single release went against his wishes. “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,” he wrote.

Cavazza went on to say that “for years now,” Bergling’s family and Pinguettes Recordings have asked him to “release the unreleased material” on which he and Bergling collaborated, and that he has “consistently said no” to their requests. “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 explained. “He is the only one who knew when his songs were finished and I do and will continue to respect that.”

Commenters were divided on whether to side with Cavazza. One response currently sitting at over 300 likes pointed out that he collaborated with Swedish DJ and producer Kygo on a 2020 version of the song meant to serve as a tribute to the original.

But this isn’t the first time in recent memory that the handling of Bergling’s legacy has been called into question. Last month, his childhood friend, Sean Erikkson, shared that he did not participate in I’m Tim “because Tim’s dad is in it,” criticizing what he called “his false storytelling of Tim.” Among other things, he claimed that the late musician’s father, Klas Bergling, claimed that it was his idea to give his son an intervention “when he was the only one arguing against it.”

A short documentary accompanying the release of “Forever Yours – Tim’s 2016 Ibiza Version” includes footage of Bergling and Cavazza collaborating on the track.