Arash Pournouri aka Ash Pournari, the Swedish music executive who managed Tim “Avicii” Bergling during the DJ’s meteoric rise, has posted what he calls a resurfacing of an old message and signaled he will finally expand on his account of Avicii’s final years. A move that comes amid ongoing legal action and months of public scrutiny.
Pournouri, who managed Avicii from the early days until their professional split in December 2016, shared a post on Instagram this week in which he republished a note he says he wrote the day after Bergling’s death in April 2018. In the excerpt he posted, Pournouri wrote that there was “so much to this that others don’t know” and that he had planned to “address it at a later time.” He added that the moment to expand on those words is “finally approaching.”
The renewed statement is the latest chapter in a fraught public conversation about responsibility, industry pressure, and how Avicii’s life and struggles are remembered. Avicii died in Muscat, Oman, on April 20, 2018; his death prompted wide-ranging tributes and intense debate about the toll of touring and fame on artists’ mental and physical health.
Pournouri has long been a controversial figure in that conversation. He has previously pushed back against what he describes as a “false external narrative” and has publicly said he will not stay silent while accusations persist. Earlier this year, he threatened legal action and later filed defamation claims related to how he was portrayed in accounts of Avicii’s career, including allegations stemming from the 2017 documentary ‘Avicii: True Stories.’ Pournouri’s latest post comes during reports that he is pursuing a defamation case against the documentary’s director, a legal step Pournouri said was intended “for the lies to stop and the facts to be known, once and for all.”
Industry observers and fans reacted quickly on social platforms after Pournouri’s post on Thursday, with some calling for transparency and others warning that any new disclosures will be emotionally charged given the sensitive nature of the subject. The question of who bears responsibility for decisions around Avicii’s health, touring schedule and support system has animated multiple documentaries, interviews, and social media disputes since 2018.
Pournouri’s post did not lay out a detailed timeline of forthcoming disclosures, nor did it indicate the format in which he might present his account. In recent years, he has repeatedly said he chose silence out of respect for Avicii’s family; his new language suggests that stance has shifted. Legal filings filed earlier in the year, which Pournouri pointed to in previous public statements, indicate he is already attempting to address some of the perceived public record through the courts.
For now, the dance music world is left awaiting whatever fuller statement or evidence Pournouri intends to make public. Whatever form it takes, it is likely to reignite difficult conversations about the portrayal of artists in media and how the stories of those who have died are told and contested.