The iconic Swedish group ABBA has confirmed that they have reunited for new music and a tour (of sorts), but what does that really mean?
ABBA have recorded new music for the first time in 35 years. In 2018, it was confirmed that ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad had been back in the studio together.
Voyage will be ABBA’s first album since 1982’s The Visitors, and will be supported by a special concert to be held in East London. Voyage will be released worldwide on November 5.
ABBA’s new song ‘I Still Have Faith in You’ is out now, including an emotional ballad with Agnetha and Anni-Frid on lead vocals (see the video below).
ABBA said in a statement: “It’s been a while since we made music together. Almost 40 years, actually. We took a break in the spring of 1982 and now we’ve decided it’s time to end it.
“They say it’s foolhardy to wait more than 40 years between albums, so we’ve recorded a follow-up to The Visitors. To tell the truth, the main inspiration to record again comes from our involvement in creating the strangest and most spectacular concert you could ever dream of”.
Sadly, ABBA themselves aren’t going to be performing live together. But they are going on tour! Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid will perform digitally with a live 10-piece band, in a purpose-built arena called The ABBA Arena in London from May 27, 2022, and will be supported by a brand new studio album.
The digital versions of ABBA were created via months of motion-capture and performance techniques with the four band members, and an 850-strong team from Industrial Light & Magic, the company founded by George Lucas.
ABBA said: “We’re going to be able to sit back in an audience and watch our digital selves perform our songs on a stage in a custom-built arena in London next spring. Weird and wonderful!” Björn Ulvaeus said that the two-hour show will be broadcast in the UK and simulcast across the world.
The band will appear as they looked back in 1979, thanks to special hi-tech imaging equipment. “We thought we looked good that year,” Ulvaeus said. “You’ll hear the voices of ABBA coming out of the mouths of the Abbatars. “You won’t be able to see that they’re not human beings. It’ll be spooky, I assure you, but great fun and no one has done it before.”
