Ella Gilbert
ABBA, one of the best-selling artists in history, have reunited to create ABBA Voyage after 40 years. They have recorded a new studio album comprising of 10 tracks and a ‘revolutionary’ virtual-reality show that will take place in London.
The album will be released on November 5 but two of the brand new songs, ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’, are available to stream now. There have been consistent rumours of ABBA potentially releasing new music in the past few years and their following is ever-growing so there are high expectations for ABBA Voyage.
Why are ABBA still so popular in the present day?
Everybody knows ABBA. Their unique sound and incredible performances have shaped pop music as we know it today. Despite not releasing any music for 40 years, their legacy has lived on. Many of their biggest fans were not even born when the four were still producing music. They have more than 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify and their popularity has only been boosted by the production of Mamma Mia! and apps like TikTok.
ABBA have been one of my favourite artists for years, much to the amusement of my dad. He always tells me how unpopular ABBA were when he was my age. For years, their songs were typically only played in gay clubs and it was generally considered uncool to be a fan. Nowadays, ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ are go-to’s for a sing-a-long. Their music is enjoyed by all generations – real family party anthems.
ABBA stands out from its contemporaries and modern music due to its distinct sound. The pairing and layering of the voice, particularly Fältskog and Lyngstad, creates mesmerising vocals – a sound which is often only able to be created through music software. As well as this, the group never left tracks to ‘come back to later’. The boys especially were perfectionists when it came to producing the backing sounds for their tracks. Their hard work in the studio clearly paid off as their music outlasted many other artists from the same time. Their music has a mystical quality and was performed in a way that captivated so many.
Why release new music now?
The four last publicly performed together back in 1982 and, though they never officially announced their split, it seemed that this would be the end of ABBA. It has often been assumed that the group split due to the breakdown of the two marriages and while this was never confirmed or denied, they remained friends. Andersson and Ulvaeus worked together on many projects, writing music and musicals together.
The band announced they had written two new songs a few years back but it was all very unclear whether they would be releasing more music or performing together again. During the interview at the Voyage launch show, Andersson and Ulvaeus mentioned that they weren’t getting any younger and they were keen to produce music while they still could. Their popularity is continually rising at the moment and they seem to be throwing themselves into it, with Ulvaeus creating an ABBA TikTok account that has already amassed over 1.5 million followers. Not many bands can manage a comeback after a 40 year hiatus but if anyone could, it would be them.
‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ and ‘I Still Have Faith In You’
These new singles are the first new music we’ve heard from the Swedish group in 40 years so fans weren’t sure what to expect. Would they be taking a new approach or would they be continuing to produce hits like ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’? The way I’d describe our first tasters of ABBA Voyage, is that it matches. It’s not just a copy of their previous songs, but maintains their quintessential ABBA style and you can see a natural progression across the albums. The band have expressed their pride over the new releases, with Ulvaeus saying he was “completely floored by the way they [Fältskog and Lyngstad] delivered those songs”. Evidently the fans agree, as ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ hit 12 million views in 4 days.
These new songs are recognisably ABBA songs with the familiar mysterious and mystical sound. At the beginning of ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’, I first thought you could really hear the age in her voice. However, the more I listen, the more it seems like we’ve just been transported back to 1979. ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ is a beautifully heartwarming song about the group and their friendships over the years.
What can we expect from the show?
These singles and the upcoming album are only part of ABBA Voyage. ABBA have created a new ‘revolutionary’ show. The band have designed and built their own London venue to host performances of digital “ABBAtars”. Created using state-of-the-art motion capture technology, the show is designed to take us back in time and show ABBA in their prime.
The show’s concept was shared back in 2016 but the project took time to develop due to the use of such advanced technology. If this is executed well, it could become a new way of preserving concerts in the future. It could offer their younger fans a much sought-after glimpse into ABBA in their active years. This new venture into the world of virtual reality is both brave and innovative but ABBA are known for their bold decisions and this show is no exception.
ABBA Voyage will be released on November 5 and is available for for preorder now. The show is scheduled to take place in Summer 2022 in London and tickets are available from September 7.
Featured image courtesy of Andrew Ebrahim via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Ella Gilbert
Ella is History and Spanish student at the University of Sheffield. She is the social media manager for Empoword and a keen writer for various publications. When not writing or studying (which is far more often than she'd like to admit), you can find her exploring the outdoors, going out for drinks with friends, or in bed with Netflix and TikTok.