Every year, the dance music industry gathers in Ibiza for the International Music Summit. Mental health and substance abuse has long been a subject of discussion, but in the wake of international crossover star Avicii‘s apparent suicide, legendary DJ Pete Tong asked the IMS crowd “is it time to establish a support group or fellowship for those in the electronic music industry?”
“Ten years ago when we started IMS, all the talk was about how electronic dance music was going to break in America and conquer the world,” he is quoted in a press release transcript of his speech. “To a large extent that all happened and is still happening… but people were not supposed to die chasing the dream. I don’t come here today to say the party’s over — but this is a wakeup call to all those involved, to start looking around and see who might need help.”
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Tong took a long and hard look at Avicii’s story, one of quick ascension and relentless performance, as a “perfect storm” of the under-reported dangers of a professional DJ’s lifestyle.
“Tim had no training,” he says, “there was no apprenticeship. He’d not even had a proper job. Some of you here today have seen his documentary TRUE STORIES. Whether it’s all entirely true or edited in a certain way — the journey and the results are pretty harrowing, particularly now that he’s not with us anymore … You travel around the world at an insane pace. You collect all the money. You lap up the adulation and drink the free champagne and everything else that goes with it. After a couple of years the anxiety builds as the schedule and demands get more and more intense. The entourage grows and there are now vast numbers of people and companies relying on your business. The bar is constantly being raised. You now rely on the alcohol, the drugs and the pills, just to get you through each day. You’re tired, constantly tired and sick, but you can’t stop.”
Tong praised fellow DJs Moby, Erick Morillo and Luciano for finding the strength to not only get sober and help themselves but to speak out about their experiences and their decisions to lead healthier lifestyles. He used them as examples that a positive, health-centric tour life is possible. They prove that there is joy in DJing without the use of drugs or alcohol.
He urged everyone at this year’s IMS to be open and understanding of their own struggled and those of their peers. He commended IMS’ first-ever Remedy State, a health and wellness retreat that proceeded the official summit which focused on practices and skills that DJs and industry professionals could use on the road in their everyday lives to ensure a healthier and happier existence.
“It’s success proves that our industry needs healing, and that people want to be healed,” Tong is quoted. “What I hope for and encourage during the next few days at the IMS and beyond – is that we get more of these issues out in the open and that the DJ’s and those around them feel less shame and more encouraged to speak up and seek help when they are struggling.”
If someone you know is a musician experiencing hardship, depression or substance abuse, Music Cares and Help Musicians UK are two organizational resources available to you around the clock.