ABBA er tilbake med nytt album!

ABBA, en av de mest suksessrike popgruppene gjennom tidene, er ute med sitt nye studioalbum Voyage, deres første album på nesten 40 år. I tillegg til det nye albumet tilgjengeliggjøres flere billetter til konserten deres ABBA Voyage.

Detaljer rundt Voyage ble annonsert tidlig september, sammen med ABBA Voyage, den revolusjonerende nye konserten hvor Agnetha, Björn, Benny og Anni-Frid vil opptre digitalt med et live 10-manns band, i en spesialbygd ABBA-arena på Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park i London fra 27. mai 2022.

Etter kunngjøringen av det nye albumet skapte ABBA historie hos Universal Music med den raskeste forhåndsbestillingen i Storbritannia med over 80.000 kopier på bare tre dager.

Konserten solgte over 250.000 billetter i løpet av de tre første dagene.

Bandet har selv uttalt: “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. 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!”

Voyage blir ABBAs første studio album siden The Visitors, som ble utgitt 30. november 1981 og nådde førsteplassen i Storbritannia, Sverige og fem andre land. Albumet var et av de tidligste albumene i historien som ble trykket på CD-format.

Voyage kommer også nesten fem tiår etter bandets debutalbum Ring, Ring, utgitt i 1973.

Som alle tidligere ABBA album, er Voyage skrevet og produsert av Björn Ulvaeus og Benny Andersson, hvor sistnevnte har uttført det meste av programmeringen og miksingen. På albumet bidrar også Stockholm Concert Orchestra.

Arrangementet og tekstene blir komplimentert gjennom de umiskjennelige og tidløse vokalene til Agnetha Fältskog og Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

For innspillingen av det nye albumet dro de fire ABBA-medlemmene tilbake til Benny sitt studio, Riksmixningsverket i Stockholm, over en fireårsperiode for å spille inn de ti sangene som er på albumet. Disse inkluderer "I Still Have Faith In You", og "Don't Shut Me Down", som var de første to sangene bandet spilte inn.

Om albumslippet sier Benny Andersson: “We knew if there was a show, we would need a couple of new songs to go with it…When we got into the studio after 39 years it was like no time had passed...we had a great time. I speak to Frida and Agnetha, and know they’re extremely happy having done this.”

Anni-Frid Lyngstad forsetter: “Those first sessions back in 2018 were such fun and when Benny called and asked if I’d consider singing some more, I jumped at it! And what songs!! My respect and love go out to these exceptionally talented, truly genius songwriters! Such joy it was to work with the group again. I am so happy with what we have made, and I dearly hope our fans feel the same.”

Agnetha Fältskog legger til: “When we got back together in the studio, I had no idea what to expect…But Benny’s recording studio is such a friendly and safe environment, and before I knew it I was really enjoying myself! I can hardly believe that finally, the moment has come to share this with the world!”

Björn Ulvaeus avslutter: “...So now we have ten songs - a whole album, called Voyage - because it's been a voyage, into uncharted territory...There must be something with the combination of Frida and Agnetha that makes that unique sound - when they started singing, it was ABBA.”

Tracklisting

1. I Still Have Faith In You

2. When You Danced With Me

3. Little Things

4. Don’t Shut Me Down

5. Just A Notion

6. I Can Be That Woman

7. Keep An Eye on Dan

8. Bumblebee

9. No Doubt About It

10. Ode to Freedom

Konserten ABBA Voyage er regissert av Baillie Walsh (Flashbacks of a Fool, Being James Bond, Springsteen and I), produsert av Svana Gisla (David Bowie Blackstar/Lazarus, Beyoncé and Jay Z for HBO, Springsteen and I) og Ludvig Andersson (And Then We Danced, Yung Lean - “In My Head”, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again).

Billetter er tilgjengelig nå på abbavoyage.com.

About ABBA:

With nearly 400 million albums sold worldwide, 17 No. 1 hits and over 16 million weekly global streams, ABBA are one of the world’s most successful music acts of all time.  Ever since their breakthrough with ‘Waterloo’ back in 1974, ABBA’s music has captured the hearts of people all over the world. Today, the songs they created –written and produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and interpreted vocally with passion and commitment by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad –are regarded as an important part of the international music canon. In the 21st Century, ABBA are more popular than ever. ABBA Gold, originally released in 1992, recently passed its 1000th week on the UK Album Chart, the first album in history to reach this milestone. Content using the #ABBA hashtag on TikTok recently reached one billion views, without the catalogue officially being available on the platform. ABBA was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and “Dancing Queen”, one of their most beloved songs, was added to the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2015.