Swedish super group ABBA have announced the highly anticipated release of their first studio album in 40 years – ABBA Voyage.
The album will be released in November and is set to include 10 new ABBA songs.
The release will be followed by a ground-breaking virtual concert series – an event that has been eagerly anticipated for quite some time now. The performance will see virtual avatars of the band members perform classic ABBA hits for fans across the globe.
While working on the virtual stage show, the quartet decided to hit the studio and concoct some fresh music. Although it has been almost 40 years since their 1982 split, the band wound up recording 10 tracks, enough to warrant a brand new album.
“At first it was just two songs, and then we said, ‘Well, maybe we should do a few others,'” said Benny Andersson.
The first song, I Still Have Faith In You, was streamed globally on Thursday, and depicted the relationship between the four members.
“I just knew it had to be about us,” said Bjorn Ulvaeus. “To release an album after 40 years and still be the best of friends…who has experienced that? Nobody.”
The second song to premiere at the conference was Don’t Shut Me Down.
This particular song alludes to the emotional rollercoaster of the ABBA classic The Day Before You Came. Fans will be delighted to draw the connection between the two tracks and indulge in their melodrama all these years later.
Both songs will be featured on the album alongside a Christmas track and “a number of pop songs”.
If you pre-order until Sep 4 at 12pm U.K. time, you can get early access to the tickets for #ABBAVoyage https://t.co/eUzrGXuEQR
— ABBAccess (@ABBAccess_) September 2, 2021
For many, the idea of an ABBA reunion was thought impossible, with many indications that the band had set aside their microphones and dazzling get-up.
In a 2013 interview Agnetha even said she would prefer to leave ABBA in the past, “It was such a long time ago and we are getting older, and we have our different lives,” she stated.
The band also turned down a billon dollar tour offer in 2000.
It is obvious that the group still share their playful yet genuine comradeship, with a joking Benny confessing his nerves leading up to the first recording session, “I was thinking, ‘I should have asked if they can still sing,'” he said.
Bjorn added to conversation poking fun at the two leading ladies’ absence from the press conference, “They should have been here,” said Bjorn, half-joking, “but they don’t enjoy this [publicity] as much as Benny does.”
“What you’re gonna see when you come to this show… is us.”
Benny and Björn introduce the world to #ABBAVoyage, the revolutionary concert 40 years in the making, and the brand new @ABBA album that was born out of the journey 🎶
Find out more at https://t.co/erjJHNSIqS pic.twitter.com/f2Mbtpe86N
— ABBA Voyage (@ABBAVoyage) September 2, 2021
Just to add to the excitement, tickets for the ABBA Voyage virtual concert hit the market on the 7 of September.
The concert will run across 6 days, starting May 27, and host digital versions of the group with a 10-piece backing band.
Incredible visual effects have made this concert a reality. Star warms creator George Lucas jumped on board with the project using his company Industrial Light and Magic to design the “ABBA-tars”.
The technology has been manipulated in a way that allows the concert to actually depict the performance of the original ABBA members, rather than impersonators. The band had to participate and record all the featured songs.
The new tracks will be played along with the band’s greatest hits, so stay tuned!
