Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, has been hinting at a new Volvo collaboration on social media this week, but all of a sudden today he shared the commercial's soundtrack on Spotify. The "Hey Brother" producer took Nina Simone's classic "Feeling Good" and gave it a worthy cover. Avicii put the banjos and synths on the other side of the studio for this one, working with the timeless genius of the original. The single sets the stage for Bergling's sophomore artist album Stories.
The soundtrack for my collaboration with @volvocarsglobal is now available on Spotify! Listen on: https://t.co/im00UvrrcB #MadeBySweden
— Tim Bergling (@Avicii) May 6, 2015
Bergling keeps Simone's vocal as the centerpiece of the song, while maintaining the integrity of the original instrumental. The strings and piano all remain, but get a 2015 update with more layers and a bigger sound, while Bergling adds his own drums, a small piano motif, eerie builds and a short section of synths at the end to reming you that this is in fact an Avicii track.
The new cover sounds like it could fit into a James Bond film.
The move to rework a track from Nina Simone isn't too surprising. Avicii has shown an affinity for older artists, especially older soul singers. His international hit "Levels" became what it is today after Bergling added the vocal sample from Etta James "Something's Got A Hold On Me," which was later used by other artists like Flo Rida.
Avicii joins other artists like Muse and Michael Bublé who have covered Nina Simone's classic song.
Fans are still waiting on news from the Avicii camp on when Stories will be released or what the next single will be. It is unclear at this point whether or not "Feeling Good" will appear on the album or will it just be a stand alone single for the commercial. Bergling has released music in the past just for a commercial partnership, one example being he produced a song for the Burn energy drink and F1 Lotus Racing team in 2013.
