Back in March of last year, Avicii announced that he was retiring from performing live and touring, at the ripe old age of 26.

I suppose he did spend most of his 20s touring as one of the world’s biggest acts, and hits like ‘Levels’ and ‘Wake Me Up’ made him a household name.

It wasn’t all fun and games, because life on the road took its toll on the Swedish DJ’s body. A new documentary, finally set for release later in the year, follows his rise to the top.

Here’s a teaser trailer, with the doccie mostly shrouded in mystery:

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Avicii (now 27) opened up about some of the reasons why he called it a day at the peak of his powers.

Some of that exchange below:

There are intense moments in the documentary, like when you’re in excruciating pain from pancreatitis, or arguing with promoters who wanted you to keep touring. How did it feel to relive all of that?

It was hard. I looked at myself like, “Fuck, you should’ve really stood up for yourself more there. Come on, Tim!” Why didn’t I stop the ship earlier?

…The one thing that kept me from stopping was that I felt weird – like, “Why the fuck can’t I enjoy this like all the other DJs?” But I’m starting to realize [sic] that a lot of the DJs who look excited at every show have the same thoughts.

You broke through at a time when EDM was the biggest sound in the world. Do you think that era is over for good?

EDM started getting oversaturated four, five, six years ago, when money became everything. From that point, I started mentally not wanting to associate myself with EDM. Now that I have more time in the studio, I want to learn as much about other genres as possible. That’s what I love the most – having a session with Nile Rodgers, for instance, and getting an understanding of music that’s invaluable.

Have you gone to other artists’ concerts in the past year? Is that something you can take pleasure in, if you’re not the one onstage?

No, not really. I’m still traumatized. But I’m sure I will again. I’ve started being able to listen to music again, getting a little bit of that joy back.

You said that your New Year’s resolution was to make “the best damn album of [your] career.” How’s that going?

It’s shaping up well. I want to bring back some older songs for the die-hard fans, but I also want to make new stuff so it sounds fresh. [The 2015 Avicii album] Stories did well, but it didn’t do as well as [2013’s] True. So I’m a little bit nervous.

Sounds lonely at the top, although he does have an estimated net worth of $85 million (R1,1 billion) to ease the pain.

More on the doccie from EDMtunes:

The documentary tells the story of the DJ’s rise in fame and phenomenal success story. It recounts the superstar DJ’s life that he lived from the release of his first album True to the release of his second album Stories. The movie will be coming to cinemas internationally this fall although it was rumored to be released last fall.

In True Stories fans can see Avicii’s career path which included him posting tracks online, playing at some of the biggest arenas, and fighting sickness. Director Levan Tsikurishvili who has been around Avicii everyday since 2013 will be able to make the movie have a personal touch and give everyone a very in-depth look at the highs and lows of an international DJ’s career.

An exact release date hasn’t yet been set, but I’m sure your EDM-loving mate will tell you all about it closer to the time.

[sources:rollingstone&edmtunes]