On Stage talk with the producers of ABBA Voyage

“On Stage” host Frank DiLella explored the concert experience “ABBA Voyage”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z6MjTFL-1s

"How do the other ABBA people feel about touring?

 Muziek Parade, January 1978: The ABBA Story, part 8

"How do the other ABBA people feel about touring? Agnetha: “To be honest, I don’t like to perform outside Sweden. I have a very good reason for that. I can’t miss my children for such a long time. They are still young now. I want to be with them in this period of their life. Whenever we have to work abroad and I really can’t get out of it, I’m regularly crying in my hotel room when I think about the children. I’m a real mother, when it comes to that.” It is known that Agnetha and Björn’s phone bills are sky high whenever they are on tour. Several times every day, they are calling Stockholm. It doesn’t matter if they are in Brisbane or Singapore, these calls will be made and they don’t care about the costs. Björn may come across as being insensitive, but he is homesick just as much as Agnetha. To suppress this homesickness, Agnetha and Björn have the same flaw: they start eating, as much as they can. They stuff themselves with the most delicious food and when they get back to Sweden, they realize that they’ve become too fat. But eating is their reaction on being away from home.

It is known that Anni-Frid and Benny love delicious food as well. Especially fish, with a fruity wine. Agnetha says: “Anni-Frid and Benny can eat whatever they like. French fries with mayonnaise and other greasy food like that. But they don’t get fat. And that’s not fair.”

Whenever ABBA is on tour, they always stay at the Hilton hotel. In Germany, this was cause for the following occurance. The organizer asked “and where will the technicians and road managers stay?” Benny replied: “With us at the hotel, of course. These guys are at least as important as we are. They deserve the best treatment.” And they think that’s weird, in our adjacent country. An entertainer is an ‘artist’ over there, someone who lives far from his servants. Benny: “It surprised me that they still think like that in Germany. There is no difference in social position with us. We are working in a team and we are staying together as a team. If you don’t do that, you can’t perform to the best of your ability.”

In Australia, ABBA bought clothes for a TV show, amounting to 50.000 Dutch guilders. Very pretty exotic dresses and suits. All very exquisite. When the show had been filmed, and on top of that had been a great success, ABBA gave the clothes to their employees, who had been in charge of light and sound."

***"The production is fine, but the technical side makes it sound cold.” Muziek Parade can’t understand why ABBA still wants to live and work in Sweden. The country is clearly anti-ABBA. Stikkan Anderson: “We love Sweden and perhaps all this resistance is an extra incentive to keep on producing good music. The more people are writing negative things about ABBA, the harder the boys get to work. The amazing thing is that these people from the press are not at all the voice of their readers. Their readers bought 500.000 copies of the ‘Arrival’ album within three weeks. That has never happened before in Sweden. That’s why we let these reporters do their talking. They won’t be able to destroy us.”

***

Stig Anderson mingles in the conversation again: “When we did our tour in England, people in the music industry thought we were crazy because we didn’t do any TV shows or commercials to announce where we would perform. We didn’t do that on purpose. This strategy of ‘we are doing it differently than others’ is working out really well. It has been proven. The tour was an enormous success. A lot of artists let themselves be used by television. It has to be the other way around. The artist has to use television. Television is a big monster that consumes creativity. An artist has to last longer than a couple of television shows that may or may not be directed badly. A lot of artists forget that. An artist is allowed to be picky. For instance, we have decided to appear on television in England twice a year at the most. Twice on Top Of The Pops, that’s more than enough. Apart from that, you shouldn’t forget about the danger of being overexposed. An artist has to be careful that he doesn’t appear on the television screen too much. People tend to get enough.” And then, Stig tells about a problem he encountered in Australia: “After the Eurovision Song Contest, we did a fair amount of television shows in several countries. And what happened? The Australian broadcasting company sent a special employee all over the world to buy the tapes of these ABBA shows. All of a sudden, we were on television every week in Australia, without our approval. Something like that can destroy an artist. Now we’ve taken care of that. Whenever we perform for television, we make sure that there is an agreement in writing that our performance can only be broadcast once and that it can’t be used for export.”

And Stig about America: “Personally, I would love to go to America. It’s a fantastic country, with a big audience with great purchasing power. But we are not ready for it yet. And we are not happy with the terms under which we would have to work. I am sure that there are people in America that laugh at our attitude. They can’t understand that we don’t accept these offers. Apparently they don’t believe in an ABBA that can still be big in years to come or even bigger than they are now.”

And he continues: “Maybe we are wrong. It’s possible. In America they are saying that you can only get bigger if you do long tours. We have a different opinion. First, we want to get even bigger and stronger in America and when we have acquired our position, we will fly over there and then the reception will be as huge as the Beatles had in their heyday.”

That the Anderson strategy is the right one has been proven in Europe. ABBA’s record sales had first reached astronomic heights before ABBA – after a lot of begging and pleading – came to Holland, France, England and so on. And ABBA can afford to wait until this begging and pleading will come from America as well.

complete here. http://abbaarticles.blogspot.com/.../muziek-parade...

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notes - old articles - magazines and posters - stig andersson

https://www.facebook.com/groups/abbaregistro/posts/1341290119930841

Björn at interview with Rick Beato

 "I had the incredible honor to interview the great Björn Ulvaeus of abba while in Stockholm" Rick Beato 

https://www.facebook.com/rickbeatoproduction/posts/pfbid02zsDUrgzLLoo2ZkcaQNvn3Xb7AnojFC4Crqi1F9B5QLic6gG3ZJUxFZLqV4ahdsQjl

The acoustical response of the arena

 https://www.auditoria.systems/abba-voyage-acoustics

The acoustical response of the arena

ACOUSTIC ENGINEERING

Our scope was to design and engineer the acoustical response of the arena to ensure it was suitably matched to our loudspeaker system design concepts and the overall design intent for the show.

The goal was to create an immersive environment that felt like a large-venue concert experience but delivered excellent intelligibility and audience engagement. We used a combination of acoustical treatment and electronic acoustic enhancement to create the acoustic environment.

WALL TREATMENT

The wall treatment consisted of 80% coverage of 5 of the 6 walls with 100mm material for broadband absorption. The reat wall to the stage is a high definition LED screen and is the only wall without treatment.

CEILING TREATMENT

The ceiling treatment consists of 65% coverage of the total ceiling area in the arena again with the 100mm broadband absorption material.

L-ACOUSTICS AMBIANCE ACTIVE ACOUSTICS

ABBA Arena is the first commercial deployment of L-Acoustics Ambiance active acoustics. The system consists of 16 room microphones processed using four L-Acoustics P1 Processors.

The system is used to provide early and late regenerative energy into the space using mainly the surround and overhead loudspeakers.

A huge thanks to Ludvig, Svana and Nick for getting us involved in the project.

The acoustic design and engineering was completed by Scott Willsallen and Luis Miranda.

Thanks to L-Acoustics for thier support in implementing the Ambiance system. Our Suppliers

ABBA VOYAGE CREDITS

Aniara Creative: Producer – Svana Gisla, Producer – Ludvig Andersson, Director – Baille Walsh, Line Producer – Josh Barwick, ILM Movement Director – Ben Morris, VFX creative director – Nikki Penny, Choreographer – Wayne McGregor, Musical Director – Martin Lowe, Instrument Director – Philip Adams.

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Production: Technical Producer – Nick Levitt, Technical Director – Joe Frisina, Head of Infrastructure – Chris Hey, Rigging Consultant – Jon Bray

Design: Design and Engineering Consultants – Jeremy Lloyd (Wonder Works), Venue Architects Alicia Tkacz (Stufish Entertainment Architects), Visual Consultant – Mathieu Debay (Tetro), Audio Design – Scott Willsallen (Auditoria), Video Technical Director – Anthony Bezencon (VYV), Lighting Director – Fredrik Stormby (Greenwall), Kinetic Design – Christopher Bauder (White Void), Laser Design – Michael Sollinger, Laser Design & Programming – Sascha Kwasny (Tarm Show Laser)

Venue: Construction – Tony Wheeler & James Lee (ESG), Technical design – Andy Prescott (ESG), Structural Engineering – Ewa Hazla & Aran Chadwick (Atelier One), Concourse construction – Stage One

Suppliers: Systems Supplier – Ian Woodall & Paul McCauley (Solotech), Kinetics – Florian Fink (White Void), Lasers supplier #1 – Michael Sollinger, Lasers supplier #2 – Sascha Kwasny (Tarm Show Laser), Rigging – Mike Goodwin & Calum Willoughby (Unusual Rigging), Automation & Stage – Geert Stockmans (WiCreations), LED Screen Wall Hardware – Brecht Moreels (Twenty-Three), Soft Goods Auditorium Wall – Tom Lambert (Black Out), Soft Goods Roll Drops – Daphne Cosquer (ShowTex), Custom stage barrier – Anthony Sinclair (EPS), Carpentry – Liam Hill (Coldharbour Industries)

https://www.dawn.com/news/1766144

Benny at the Swedish Derby

 

video and photo: Svensk Galopp

- Pensé que estaría nervioso, pero no lo estaba, dijo Benny, sosteniendo la corona gigante de la victoria. Confié en Jessica, Oliver [Wilson que montaba] y sabía que teníamos un buen caballo.

Benny me dijo que le gustan las carreras, pero que le fascina aún más la cría. Para seguir las líneas de sangre, elige un semental y luego espera.

La entrenadora Jessica Long ha trabajado a propósito con el Derby Sueco como el gran objetivo. Siempre ha tenido claro que todo ha ido exactamente según lo previsto. Y ella tenía razón.

- Está claro que trabajamos durante mucho tiempo para esto, pero finalmente encontramos el caballo adecuado.

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Benny told me that he likes racing, but is even more fascinated by breeding. To follow the bloodlines, choose a stallion and then hope.

Trainer Jessica Long has worked purposefully with the Swedish Derby as the big goal. She has always been clear that everything has gone exactly according to plan. And she was right.

- It is clear that we worked for a long time for this, but we finally found the right horse.

Ayani is big, strong – and fast. Now he outclassed everything in Scandinavia, but there is probably even more development considering that he has only made five starts (winning four of them). And Jessica Long has a plan.

Massivt jubel när Ayani triumferade i Svenskt Derby

16 juli 2023 22:09

Tränaren Jessica Long mötte ägaren och uppfödaren Benny Andersson i en lång kram. Sagan fick ett lyckligt slut, Ayani vann Svenskt Derby och jublet på Jägersro var massivt.

– Jag trodde jag skulle vara nervös, men det var jag inte, sa Benny och höll i den gigantiska segerkransen. Jag litade på Jessica, Oliver [Wilson som red] och visste att vi hade en bra häst.



På förhand var Ayani favorit, men löpningen bedömdes vara vara öppen och svår, Men när det väl blev allvar så fanns det bara en häst på banan – Ayani var helt överlägsen.

– Vi har känt ett stort och massivt stöd, så det var väldigt skönt att det lyckades, kommenterade en tagen tränare.

Löpningen tar bara ett par minuter, men det här var resultatet av en lång och systematisk satsning från Benny Anderssons sida.

– Jag har haft hästar här nere i 40 år, berättade Benny. Då var Jessica [Long] två år.

Han ropade in Ayanis mormor på auktion, har avlat vidare på den stammen och nu fick han en fullträff.

– Jag har varit med och vunnit ett par derbyn i Köpenhamn, men det här är ännu större.

Hur stort?

– Hmm. Det är stort, men att få barn är ju större. Det är top-tio i alla fall. Det här var en fantastiskt fin seger och jag är väldigt glad för Jessicas skull.

Benny berättade att han gillar racing, men är ännu mer fascinerad av uppfödningen. Att få följa blodslinjerna, välja hingst och sedan hoppas.

Tränaren Jessica Long har jobbat målmedvetet med Svenskt Derby som det stora målet. Hon har hela tiden varit klar med att allt har gått precis enligt plan. Och hon hade rätt.

– Det är klart att vi jobbat länge för det här, men äntligen hittade vi den där rätta hästen.

Ayani är stor, stark – och snabb. Nu utklassade han allt som fanns i Skandinavien, men det finns nog ännu mer utveckling med tanke på att han bara gjort fem starter (vunnit fyra av dem). Och Jessica Long har en plan.

– Släpp ut honom på en stor gräsbana så tror jag att vi hittar en växel till i honom.

Sedan Ayani, Jessica Long, Benny Andersson och Oliver Wilson skapat feststämning på Jägersro var det förstås dags för det egna firandet.

– Jag har väl varit med på en eller annan fest, så nu hänger jag med hem till tränaren. Så går det till i den här branschen. Och jag tror att det blir bra, avslutade Benny Andersson.

16 juli 2023 22:09

https://www.svenskgalopp.se/nyheter-och-media/massivt-jubel-nar-ayani-triumferade-i-svenskt-derby/

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https://www.svenskgalopp.se/nyheter-och-media/benny-anderssons-drom-slog-in-hans-ayani-vann-svenskt-derby/

How ABBA Voyage and other avatar or 'hologram' concert performances evoke fans' real responses

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/abba-voyage-other-avatar-hologram-174714631.html

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How ABBA Voyage and other avatar or 'hologram' concert performances evoke fans' real responses

Fans outside the ABBA Arena in London, a venue built for the ABBA Voyage concert, in May 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) At ABBA Voyage, a 90-minute long digital concert event, ABBA’s Benny Andersson looks over the crowd and addresses them reassuringly: “This is really me, I just look very good for my age.” Andersson, of course, is not physically present in the arena, but rather is a digitally animated avatar. ABBA Voyage is a new type of concert experience, where avatars of the pop stars are accompanied by live musicians. This performance is hosted in a 3,000-seat custom-built concert venue in London. Unlike earlier digital avatar performances (sometimes referred to as “hologram” concerts), ABBA Voyage plays out on 65-million-pixel LED screens. In previous shows featuring the likes of Roy Orbison and Whitney Houston, performers’ avatars were projected onto a band of translucent plastic. In both formats, an animated two-dimensional image on a screen gives the appearance of a lifelike, 3D performer. Recent research on K-pop performances with digital avatars has shown that these digital performers can in fact create a sense of co-presence and immediacy with a live audience, and ABBA Voyage concerts do the same. Voyage blurs the boundaries of what audiences understand as a live performance, contributing to a century-long conversation about the complex relationship between technology and performance in the arts. It raises questions about whether digital avatar concerts can meet audiences’ expectations in a live concert experience. Skeptical about aims Many fans and critics were skeptical about ABBA’s virtual return, which was preceded by a new record release, also titled Voyage. Reviews of the digital concert experience frequently use language that paint the experience as hyper-real and somewhat uncanny. Reviewer Niall Byrne of the Irish music site Nialler described the show as featuring ABBA “cryogenically frozen as their younger selves.”

Members of ABBA, from left, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, arrive for the ABBA Voyage concert in London in May 2022, before the virtual version of the band began a series of concerts. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) But 1.3 million ticket sales later, the show’s success speaks for itself. However, the fixation on whether or not ABBA Voyage is a “real” concert takes attention away from a far more interesting conversation: how an avatar performance evokes very real responses from an audience sharing a physical space and an emotional experience. Fans prepare and invest In 2022, my research assistants and I conducted interviews with audience members ranging in age from their early 20s to their late 50s who had travelled to ABBA Voyage from five different countries in North America and Europe. One of the themes concertgoers were most eager to describe was their preparation for the concert. Attendees discussed in detail the plans they had drawn up for their trip — sometimes nearly a year in advance. They described the long wait and anticipation they felt, the outfits they had prepared and the way they had re-listened to ABBA’s music — all in an effort to feel ready to participate in an event that they hoped would be meaningful and memorable.

A fan shows off an ABBA tattoo while awaiting the ABBA Voyage concert in London in May 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) Fears about technology, emotional payoff Our interview subjects commonly experienced apprehension at the beginning of the show, owing to the amount of preparation they had invested as concertgoers. For some, it was anxiety about the extensive use of technology and the ways it might hinder the experience. For others, it was simply a nervous hope that the show would live up to their expectations. One interviewee from Bristol, England, found that they were unable to relax into enjoying the show until they had overcome these anxieties: “You kind of invest so much into it and you so much want it to be brilliant and you’re kind of a bit worried that you might feel let down. So it wasn’t until the first 10 minutes was over that I found that like: ‘Oh, I can relax now. It is really brilliant so I can enjoy it!’” Despite fears about technology and the show’s emotional payoff, every interviewee who expressed these reservations later affirmed that their expectations were exceeded by the concert. Creating lasting memories Audience members reported that they left the venue with a sense of connection to those with whom they shared the experience — a finding that echoes recent research into fan experiences at other digital concert events.

Fans await the ABBA Voyage concert in London in May 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) Some participants noted that they felt unexpectedly emotional participating in this group dynamic, including a middle-aged man: “It’s kind of like shock and awe isn’t it? …. I felt quite emotional at times through the concert, and you’re thinking: ‘Well, why are you emotional? It’s technology that’s like, reproducing this for you….’ I know there were people around me that were feeling the same way as well, and how often does that happen, you know?” Voyage works on an emotional level because it encourages audience preparation and anticipation, and then delivers a collective experience of live connection, surprise and wonder. Human connection Audiences bring a performance — holographic or otherwise — to life with their attention and investment, and ABBA Voyage serves as a clear demonstration of this effect. These interviews demonstrated the ways that the audience’s preparation positions them to have a meaningful experience, and how the carefully designed elements of the show ease anxieties about potential disappointment or alienation during the pre-programmed concert. The audience at Voyage can experience a sense of community and feelings of personal meaning, regardless of whether the performers are bodily present. As music researcher Christopher Small has argued, experiences of identity and meaning in a musical experience are co-created by all of its participants, including the audience. The new performance practices at ABBA Voyage — and audience members’ responses to them — offer important insights into the inner workings of live audience engagement, particularly as we move further into an age in which human and technological elements are becoming increasingly intertwined. Research assistants John Glanville and Anna Konrad co-authored this story. This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It was written by: Alyssa Michaud, Ambrose University.

https://theconversation.com/how-abba-voyage-and-other-avatar-or-hologram-concert-performances-evoke-fans-real-responses-206961

Bjorn in Vastervik - Every Song Has A Story

Hansi Schwartz, bandkollega till Björn Ulvaeus i Hootenanny Singers, gick bort 2013 och i år det tionde året festivalen arrangeras utan Hansi Schwartz vid rodret.

– Han hade varit stolt som en tupp om han hade kunnat se hur festivalen ser ut idag, säger Björn Ulvaeus.

Hansi Schwartz, compañero de banda de Björn Ulvaeus en los Hootenanny Singers, falleció en 2013 y este año marca el décimo año que el festival se organiza sin Hansi Schwartz a la cabeza.

- Habría estado orgulloso como un gallo si hubiera podido ver cómo se ve el festival hoy, dice Björn Ulvaeus.

14 07 2023 photo

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/smaland/publikfest-i-slottsruinen-sa-var-visfestivalens-forsta-konsertkvall

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photo: 13 07 2023

https://www.facebook.com/vastervikskommun/posts/66473557569366

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Every Song Has A Story - Björn Ulvaeus meets Graham Gouldman

photos 12 07 2023

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photos visfestivalen instagram

visfestivalen...

visfestivalen...

Vemod undercover - Jan Gradvall

https://www.albertbonniersforlag.se/bocker/291178/vemod-undercover/Benny/

Jan Gradvall publica un libro sobre ABBA... Tristeza encubierta

"Parece que todo lo que he escrito sobre música ha llevado a este libro", dice Jan Gradvall según Albert Bonniers Förlags sitio web.

Allí, el libro se describe como el lector se reunirá ABBA "más allá de los disfraces y las leyendas penetradas". "Es un libro que permite que los detalles, en la música, en el destino humano, en los tiempos contemporáneos, expliquen el todo, desde los primeros pasos de la banda como algo así como un supergrupo sueco a principios de la década de 1970, hasta la última grabación. Vemod Undercover es un mosaico de historias únicas sobre ABBA, pero sobre todo una declaración de amor desenmascarada, firmada por uno de los principales periodistas musicales de Suecia, que nos hace ver la banda y el tiempo con nuevos ojos."

Andersson explica que incluso las canciones más alegres del enorme catálogo de canciones de la banda son fundamentalmente tristes. "Hicimos melancolía encubierto", dice para describir la música de la banda.

El libro se publicará el 13 de octubre.

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Vemod undercover - Boken om ABBA Författare: Jan Gradvall

Vemod Undercover är titeln på nöjesjournalisten och författaren Jan Gradvalls kommande bok om ABBA.

AV JIM KNUTSSON

07.07.2023 / 09:07

"Det känns som allt jag skrivit om musik har lett fram till den här boken", säger Jan Gradvall enligt Albert Bonniers Förlags hemsida.

Där beskrivs boken som att läsaren kommer att möta ABBA "bortom förklädnader och genomtröskade legender". "Det är en bok som låter detaljerna – i musiken, i människoödena, i samtiden – förklara helheten, från bandets första steg som något av en svensk supergrupp i början av 1970-talet, till den sista inspelningen. Vemod Undercover är en mosaik av unika berättelser om ABBA, men framför allt en osminkad kärleksförklaring, signerad en av Sveriges ledande musikjournalister, som får oss att se bandet och tiden med nya ögon."

Benny Andersson förklarar att även de gladare låtarna i bandets enorma låtkatalog är vemodiga i grunden. "Vi gjorde vemod undercover", säger han för att beskriva bandets musik.

Boken släpps den 13 oktober.

 https://gaffa.se/nyheter/2023/juli/jan-gradvall-ger-ut-bok-om-abba