ABBA have announced a new album, Voyage, and a new digitally enhanced live experience that will happen in London. Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad made the album at Benny’s studio Riksmixningsverket in Stockholm, and it will be released worldwide on November 5 via Capitol Records. You can watch the video for wistful first single "I Still Have Faith in You," and listen to sparkling disco number "Don't Shut Me Down" now.
That video features the digital versions of ABBA, made to look like their mid-'70s prime, that will appear along with an actual 10-piece live band at the "ABBA Voyage" concert experience. It will open May 27 2022 at the ABBA Arena, a "state-of-the-art 3,000 capacity arena located at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London" that was custom-built for the shows.
From the press release: "The digital versions of ABBA have been created following weeks and 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, in what is the company’s first foray into music."
"It’s been a while since we made music together," say ABBA. "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!"
Weird for sure! You can pre-register for tickets for "ABBA Voyage" here. Watch the "I Still Have Faith in You" video and check out Voyage artwork below.
The announcement came via a global livestream event.
